When is my baby going to teeth?
Nearly every parent begins to wonder if their four month old child is going to get a tooth *any minute* now.
Well, don’t hold your breath!
Two physiologic and developmental events happen at about 4 months of age that look suspiciously like teething. First, for reasons that I don’t understand and that have nothing to do with teething, the glands that make saliva become much more active, and babies begin to drool like crazy. As a father once said to me “She could irrigate crops!” Babies become bubble machines too, a phase we call “razzing.” The second event that leads parents to suspect imminent teething is that babies start gnawing and sucking and chewing on everything, especially their hands. Probably not related to teething at all, this oral obsession is thought to be a developmental stage in which babies begin to use all of their senses–including taste–to explore the world.
It is not surprising that parents see a drooling, gnawing baby and think that they are teething. The average baby, however, doesn’t get teeth until they are seven or eight months old. Some babies don’t get their first tooth until they are 12-14 months old. The occasional parent will, though, find a few teeth peeking out of the gums of their little ones earlier: about 1% of babies will get their first teeth at 4 months.
How do you know when your baby is teething?
- Increased drooling, some fussiness, and lots of gnawing and chewing are all signs that are consistent with, but not specific for, teething.
- Your baby’s gums may get red and slightly swollen appearing just before a tooth erupts: look for these on the bottom gum, as the two central bottom teeth are usually the earliest to erupt.
- Some babies become fussy for a day or two before teeth erupt. Other parents wake up one morning to find that their happy-as-a-clam baby has her first teeth without any complaints at all! And other parents swear that their baby has been fussy for weeks prior to the eruption of teeth.
Tips for parents:
- Want to see when to expect your babies teeth? The ADA has created a fun animated site about teeth eruption.
- Talk to your pediatrician if your baby has not begun teething by 14 months of age.
- Teething can cause fussy days and/or nights, and sometimes a bit of tylenol can be necessary to relieve the pain during the worst moments. But don’t attribute weeks or months of fussiness to teething!
- Check out this post for further information about how to sooth teething babies.
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A Pediatrician's Insights on Child Health, Parenting and Doctoring Kids
