LOOKING AHEAD FOR DENTAL HEALTH T Teething: The Eruption of the Baby Teeth When do the baby teeth form? removed promptly to avoid the possibility of the tooth coming loose and The cells which form the hard structures being breathed-in by the baby. of the teeth begin their work about half- way through pregnancy. The crowns of How can I make teething easier? the front teeth are completed at about 2 months of age, molars at about 11 Teething rings are important to help the months. The roots are still forming teeth work through the gums. As soon during tooth eruption and provide the as the teeth penetrate the gum tissue, the force to push the teeth through the gums. discomfort begins to go away. Try cooling the teething ring in the When will my baby get teeth? refrigerator. If you put it in the freezer compartment, don’t give it to the baby Usually at six months, but there is a immediately when you take it out wide variation. Some babies start because it is possible to get a “cold getting teeth soon after they are born and burn” on the sensitive mouth tissues. some are toothless until they are 18 Ask your pediatrician’s advice about months old. whether to give Tylenol, and how much and how often to give it. A surface Is very early or very late tooth anesthetic preparation like Ora-Gel for eruption a sign of any medical Teething may be useful at bedtime or problem? when the baby is particularly upset, but it washes away in a short time. Be sure No, some rare problems include late or to use it only according to the directions. early tooth eruption, but the other signs There is no perfect solution, so just give are more noticeable than the tooth extra love and the problem will solve eruption pattern. itself.

What is the usual sequence of Is it true that babies get sick in eruption? different ways from teething?

The middle front teeth erupt first and All kinds of problems form colds to eruption alternates between upper and rashes to diarrhea have been blamed on lower with the lower usually coming in teething. The safest approach is to think first. The pattern usually skips over the of these problems as coincidental to third tooth, the cuspid. After the first teething. If your baby has a fever or molar has erupted, the cuspid then actually seems sick, check with your erupts. pediatrician.

Are babies ever born with teeth? What are “eruption cysts”?

Occasionally: they are called natal teeth An eruption cyst is a soft bluish dome of if they are present at birth and neonatal gum tissue over an erupting tooth caused teeth if they erupt during the first month. by a small blood vessel being broken There is a great variation in natal teeth. and the fluid puffing up the gum. Some are just barely through the gums Usually no treatment is needed. The and will develop near normally. Others teeth will penetrate the gums normally. are hanging on a stalk of gum tissue, will never develop normally and should be