help me oh glorious and geeky MNers, i quickly need to research 'teething'. signs, remedies, breastfeeding with teeth, toothbrushing, all that sort of stuff. i'd love it if a dentist could give me a hand... where's Come O'Veneer when i need her?

[PoppyCock]

...probably off yanking some poor bugger's tooth out, sheesh.

seriously chaps, tell me every interesting fact you know about paediatric dental health. evidence, research would be good too.

so very grateful. i know i don't look like a regular poster but i am, i am. i'm just a bit feart that my ed might swing by and put two and two together....

We have a tooth-cleaning song we sing to the boys - we count up to ten and back again - we can make it as fast or slow as we like then, and it means that if they're fractious and non-co-operative, we still get a few seconds with a brush and if they're happy to have their teeth cleaned, we make it a longer time and give them a really good clean.

cunning with the song, hunker...
dd actually Will Not let me put anyhting in her mouth (don't anyone say it, i am aware that she is unnaccustomed to having things put in or near her mouth) so she's very hit and miss with the toothbrushing per se. however i've got a clear plasticky soft baby toothbrush that she chews on like this one www.cheekymonkey.ca/AngelToothbrush.htm

also, CoV, she much prefers using my toothbrush (i've started using a soft one specially) to hers, cos she can have a right good chew on that too. am i killing her with my disgusto-germs?

oh yes, and what about toothpaste/ in scotland we're told to use normal minty fluoride toothpaste as we don't have it in the water. what happens in england? the bbc website says fluoride is better for all.

My GP said it was a myth that babies get a temp when teething. What a complete load of tosh - DS hit 38.8, 39.7, 40.1, and 38.6 in temp spikes on Fri - weird that it coincided with desperate need to chew and red cheeks. DH temp used to rise so much when he was getting his molars he had febrile convulsions (sp?), so I'm desperately hoping DS hasn't inherited that bit from DH.

And anecdotal evidence amongst DS peers would suggest it varies hugely from child to child, especially how long they have symptoms for before a tooth arrives.

For us calprofen works best when it's really bad with temp etc. Otherwise bonjela is good but you have to run the gauntlet of being bitten. He also has teething beads which are his favourite thing. And a sort of rubber ended toothbrush which he can stick right down the sides and back to chew on.

thankyouverymuch... keep 'em coming, lovely ladies. i really appreciate it.

We were just told to use a pea sized amount of any kids toothpaste - not sure if they have fluoride in or not. Dd wouldn't touch the minty one when we started out, so we found a berry flavour one, which she finds much more acceptable.

Agree with everything Hunker said .
(BF DS until 14 months and am currently bf DD at 11 months - has 7 teeth and 8th is currently coming through).

My boys both had rotten nappies when teething, it was a sure sign for us (that and screaming all night)
I stopped bf DS1 before he got teeth, as I thought there was no way it wouldn't damage my poor nips.
With DS2 i have carried on through teething. TBH I did have to go to docs as his bottom teeth caused a very painful gash on my nipple, but I carried on, and now it doesn't bother me.

He did go through a biting stage too... I think that's when his top teeth were coming through. It didn't last too long thank goodness.

oh, sorry, teeth brushing. We use the berry flavoured stuff to as neither of the boys will have anything to do with minty stuff.

we were told to use adult minty toothpaste in England and that the kids stuff does not have enough fluoride in it. TO start as soon as the first tooth was cutting through though take it easy and make it fun. Rinsing after brushing takes the fluoride off the teeth so not to do that as they get old enough to understand it - just to spit the excess. Obviously while still small they swallow most of it so only to use a tiny amount though.

this is so cool, you've all been brilliantly kind to me, i feel like i've got a lot more Sensible Things to say now.
although can i have a show of hands on the pooey nappies? it certainly happened to dd, the poor child has never had nappy rash unless she's cutting a tooth.

come o veneer, if you want to be Properly Quoted (it's quaite a good publication, in fact) then CAT me your details and i'll give you a ring. assuming you do kiddies, that is, and aren't the sort of dentist who just attaches porcelains to footballers' wives.

nappy rash only when cutting teeth here too (but only certain teeth for some reason)

Oh I see CoV has been here.....not much to add tot he advise already given...(Hi CoV)

My dd only ever got nappy rash with teething. I believe teething lowers their immune system & the normal level of acid that is produced agrevates the skin, therefore nappy rash etc..

Can I hijack and ask what do you do when LO's hate having their teeth brushed?? DS is just turned 1 and has 7 teeth. He hates having his teeth brushed so I end up putting the toothpaste on my finger and doing it that way (and getting bitten!!), but having a panic about his teeth decaying etc! I don't give him any sugar apart from the odd Heinz egg custard with rice......

Any tips appreciated!

sandcastles... you're a dentist too? is there any research for your immunity lowering thing? that's exactly the sort of thing i'm after.

Ds got his first tooth at 12 weeks, the second shortly afterwards and it was hellish as he was too small to put teething toys in his mouth to chew, went ballistic at white powder being poured in his mouth (much frothing and gagging) and spat out the calpol. Dentinox teething gel was acceptable but didn't seem to do much. He was very bad tempered for about a week as you would be but the nappies were fine, no temp, no red cheeks.

The next lot started coming in a while back and there was less fuss but he got nappy rash for the first time - was before weaning so not connected with that. It seems to have settled down again although he's cutting 4 teeth at once this time. He now loves the A&P powders but I don't know if they actually do anything... I'm a homeopathy skeptic though, I don't know what ds's opinion of complementary therapies is.

Now that I've learned not to yank my nipple out of his mouth with an almightly yell when he bites me things are a lot better. I got a couple of nasty bites that way. It's only a problem when a new tooth is coming through and has never been so bad as with the first ones. Was dreading the top teeth but apart from some stealth nipping it's been ok - the pushing his face into my breast works really well.

I'm a bit unclear as to hoe thorough toothbrushing should be at thes stage. I give him the brush with a dab of paste on it ad he has a good chew but I suppose I should really now be doing it for him as well. I only give him the brush in the evening and he has a feed not long after but usually falls asleep during it which is why I don't wait till just before bed.

I know that frequent night feeds are meant to be an issue wrt infant dental health as the milk can pool in their mouths.

We have four children and all four had different teething experiences:

DS1: We didn't have a clue that he have teething. No rash, no dribbling NOTHING. One evening DH was convinced that DS1 had something in his mouth so he fished around in there and was rather surprised to discover that it was teeth!! (two bottom ones) He was 8 months and breast fed.

DD1: She cried so often (many, many ear/sinus/chest infections and digestive issues) that we were always thinking that she was teething... She did have loose poop and dribbled so much that her chin was red. Her first two teeth were on the top so I didn't spot them initially either. She bit me and I felt them. She was 7 months.

DS2 He had slight temps (we would worry that he was ill) with each of the first 10 teeth. He also had nappy rashes from the loose poop. His first two teeth were on the bottom but we noticed the first one and the second followed a few days later.

DD2: The doctor we saw in NYC was convinced that she was teething from 4 months and suggested equivalent of Calpol but she did not have any sign of teeth until she was 10 months. She had one on the bottom followed by one on the top which I thought was odd but this pattern has continued. She had terrible nappy rashes with the first 4 teeth only and I thought that this might be because rather than dribble she seemed to swallow copious amounts of saliva.

All four have been breastfed into toddlerhood and I have only found it a problem every once in a while. When bitten I gently removed the biter and reminded them that teeth were for FOOD not mummy.

Not a dentist no, a dental nurse.

Sorry no evidence, or research...only what I feel worked for dd.

When she was teething I would give her the veg water after steaming veges & I make her pearl barley water to neutralise her system...it worked wonders.

I would use minimal cream & I know that as her wee/poo was less acidic, it would burn less & therefore not agrevate her already sore bottom. In fact, after discovering this, I used to give it to her first signs of any teeth coming thru & it prevented nappy rash from happening again.

Hello. I took ds for his first dentist appointment at 18 months (last month) and the dentist stuck a finger in, had a feel about, and then said "those two teeth at the bottom should have come in between 9 and 12 months". They weren't there at all, and I was worried sick. She said if they don't come through as baby teeth, they won't come through as adult teeth either.

Anyway, a month down the line and one of these teeth has erupted. I'm very relieved.

I also asked this doom-mongering dentist about brushing. My ds LOVES putting his toothbrush in his mouth, having a swish at the front teeth maybe, and then chewing and spitting. But won't touch the molars. If I try to take control it's pandemonium. I may as well be a first world superpower trying to impose democracy on a comparatively defenseless country. He howls and screams. The dentist said she pinned down all her kids and forced the brushing and now they're all fine. I'm worried about forced brushing causing a hatred of tooth-brushing.

In reality, I sometimes let him away with a light brush, sometimes forget to brush them altogether, and sometimes totally go for it and brush by force. Very occassionally it all goes beautifully and we brush all his teeth between us without any hassle. But I've yet to work out what exactly leads to this perfect state!