Teething

Usually, your baby’s front 4 teeth (2 on the top and 2 on the bottom) are the first to appear. sometime between 6 months and 1 year of age. These are often accompanied by sore or tender gums that may appear red or swollen.

Teething an exciting time for parents as it is a physical sign of baby growing older and nothing melts the heart more than a smile from your loved one with little teeth showing. They can also start eating more solid foods which accelerates their development.

It can also be a time of stress for baby, as this period is accompanied by sore or tender gums that may appear red or swollen. Other changes are also occurring at this time but teething is the term used to describe this stage. Parents can feel frustrated as they try to relieve their baby’s discomfort.

Different things you can try are:

• a cold teething ring
• gently rubbing the gums with a finger or the back of a cold spoon
• ask your pharmacist for a pain reliever to suit your baby. Always seek medical advice if symptoms persist.

At around 3 years old, most children should have a complete set of 20 primary (or baby) teeth. It is very important to take good care of these first teeth, even though they will be replaced by permanent teeth. This is because your child’s baby teeth hold the spaces for the permanent teeth to come in; if a baby tooth is lost, the permanent tooth could come in crooked.

When will my child’s baby teeth start to fall out?

Your child will start to lose his or her baby teeth around age 6. The process of permanent teeth replacing primary teeth occurs until age 12 or 13. By the time your child’s wisdom teeth erupt at around age 16, he or she will have a complete set of 32 permanent teeth.

Because the process of replacing primary teeth with permanent teeth occurs gradually, keeping all the teeth clean may be a challenge. That’s because your child will have larger permanent teeth growing next to smaller primary teeth, and this unevenness means lots of spaces for food and plaque to collect.