If there is one important milestone in the life of a child that many parents may wish to skip, then it has to be teething. Although you feel happy when your child displays her two tiny bottom teeth whenever she smiles, but the process it took to get them is not easy for both parents and their babies.
The good news about teething is that all the suffering you went through, is not wasted. Teething such as crawling, walking as well as talking is a very vital milestone that shows that your child is on the right developmental track. Let us take a quick look at them.
Types of development.
We can classify this into physical and language development. The first thing parents should be happy about is that their baby’s teeth will allow her to eat well-rounded diets. In addition, tooth eruption also means that your child is gradually getting ready to tear into meat as well as chew beans. In a nutshell, you can see that teething offers an indirect effect on your child gaining weight, strengthened immunity as well as bone improvement and brain development.
Another important transformation is that your child’s teeth will assist her emerging language skills. When your child starts acquiring teeth and can also increasingly bite as well as chew more textured foods, they are simultaneously exercising as well as building the underlying oral-motor musculature, for speech development of the jaw, cheeks, tongue, as well as lips.
When to expect teething
Teething normally starts when your baby is 6 months old, but this can start as early as 3 months of age. In a nutshell, the age at which your baby starts developing his or her first tooth simply depends on the family history of teething. However, if you started teething early, there is every tendency that your child will follow the same pattern.
Typically, the central incisors, which are the two bottom front teeth, are the first set of teeth to erupt, followed by the central and lateral incisors, which are the four upper front teeth. However, your child may experience some variations in the order in which this occurs, but it does not warrant any concern. Before your baby is almost 3 years old, he or she would have developed a full set of primary (baby) teeth.
What parents should expect
Not all babies experience symptoms of teething. However, for those that are not so lucky, the coming of those tiny teeth can create a whole lot of misery. Some of the symptoms your baby might experience during this period include drooling, which can as well create some form of rash on the face or chin of the baby. Others symptoms include swelling of gum and sensitivity, biting, irritability, rubbing of her face as well as tug on her ears. In some cases, the baby might even refuse to eat or drink.
What you can do to help your teething baby
There are ways parents can help their teething baby feel better.
Use a toothbrush teether
You can give your baby a toothbrush toy to play with. It should be something that is safe for the baby to chew on. You can go for Eco-friendly toothbrush toys that are made from FDA approved silicone material. It should also be something that your baby can handle firmly.
Benefits of using a toothbrush teether
It can be very difficult sometimes, when you try to apply gel or granules to the gums of your teething child. The bite you get from putting your finger in her mouth is usually very painful. You can conveniently put your gel or granules on the teether and give it to your child to put in their mouth, instead of placing your finger in their mouth, which can be unhygienic.
The toothbrush style teether will also help kids to cultivate a good dental hygiene habit and it is quite a learning process for kids.
The toothbrush teething toy that you give them to handle should have a fun appealing design, in order to help keep their mind away from their teething pain.
