Teething is a phase when a baby’s first set of primary teeth erupt through the gums. Usually, babies begin teething when they turn six months old, but it’s quite normal if the teething happens at any time between the ages of three to 12 months. All the 20 primary teeth of the baby erupt by the time he turns three years old.


Usually, the baby’s lower two teeth appear first and then the upper front teeth occur about a month or two later. The teething phase and symptoms vary from baby to baby. Teething can cause a lot of distress to not only the baby but also to the parents because of the painful symptoms it brings along.


Symptoms of teething include crankiness, swollen gums, excessive drooling, a loss of appetite, fever, the child waking up several times at night, coughing, and diarrhea. While these are all symptoms of teething, the parents must check if the baby is really teething or if the symptoms are caused by some other problem. The parent can first wash his hands and try to feel the baby’s gums. If you can feel a bump on your finger, this could be the teeth trying to push through the gums.

To bring relief to the teething baby’s gums, you can give him a teething ring after freezing it as it will numb his gums and bring relief from pain. Another similar remedy is soaking a clean and soft washcloth in chamomile tea or water, freezing it, and giving it to the baby to chew on. You can also wash your hand and rub the gums gently for two minutes to bring relief to the baby’s gums. Wrapping a piece of frozen banana or apple in a clean soft washcloth and giving it to the baby to chew on is also an effective remedy. These two remedies seem to work great as the child finds the fruity flavor pleasant and also gets relief from the painful symptoms. The pain can also be alleviated by rubbing olive oil or pure vanilla extract on the baby’s gums. A few more remedies are giving him ice cube wrapped in a clean cloth or freezing an ordinary bagel and using it as a teething ring. If the baby has a fever, you must consult his doctor and get prescribed medicines. Put gloves on the baby’s hands before giving him frozen teething ring, washcloth or bagel to prevent his hands from becoming numb.