Teething trouble a figment of parents’ imagination, says dentist

Teething pain, blamed so often for cranky babies and sleepless nights, is a figment of parental imagination, according to a leading dentist.

The red cheeks, nappy rash and fevers frequently attributed to teething are generally the result of infections, said Kirsten Fitzgerald, consultant paediatric dental surgeon at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

Parents of young babies who focus too much on the imagined symptoms of teething could be missing more serious conditions, she warned. In one case, a child with meningitis went undiagnosed for a critical period because it was believed teething was the issue.

She also expressed concern over the sale of amber teething necklaces which claim, without any scientific evidence, to alleviate the alleged symptoms but are in fact a choking hazard.

“Teething is a simple, gentle and benign process, but it has come to mean so much more. It’s a normal process, just like growing nails or hair,” she said.

A baby’s milk teeth form cell by cell in a protective sac and rise slowly to the surface, where the cells of the gum die away to make way for them, she explained. “Despite the phrase, there is no cutting or piercing.”

Studies have linked teething to slight swelling and a temperature increase of 0.2 degrees, but nothing more significant. Dr Fitzgerald said “people’s imaginations have got the better of them”, not impeded by a “massive industry” selling teething remedies.

Asked why so many babies fall sick at the time their first teeth are appearing, she said this period coincides with increased exposure to outside infection.

From six months, the protective antibodies they get from the mother at birth wear off and they start moving around and picking up bugs.

“Babies get 20 viral infections in the first two years. They’re lying on the ground, or licking the wheels of the buggy. But, unlike the new teeth, we can’t see the viral infection.”

The bad name associated with teething has a long pedigree; in the 1800s, it was blamed for up to half of child deaths.

Dr Fitzgerald suggests parents worried about the effects of teething should try rubbing their baby’s gums or wiping its face with a damp facecloth “for psychological reasons”, though she didn’t do this with her own children.

To ensure good oral health, parents should brush baby teeth with nothing more than a wet toothbrush to the age of two, and use small amounts of adult toothpaste thereafter.

“Children shouldn’t be brushing their own teeth until they can tie their shoelaces,” she said.