When a baby or toddler appears to have pain in their mouth, the most common issue is likely teething. Teething is the eruption of the baby teeth through the gums. This process often begins around the age of 6 months and continues until all 20 baby teeth come out. Toothaches (pulpitis) also can be from tooth becomes inflamed and infected. The pulp is soft part inside the tooth that has blood vessels and nerves.
The most common causes of toothaches in children:
- Dental Decay. Cavities often lead to pain and are quite common in children.
- New Teeth. As children lose their baby teeth, the growth of new teeth can cause pain as the new teeth put pressure on nerves.
- Sinus Problems. Just like adults, children who have sinus issues often have tooth sensitivity.
- Fillings. Children with silver amalgam fillings can have sensitive to hot and cold food and drinks.
- Diet. Sometimes your child’s toothaches can result from something they ate recently. Did they have any hard, acidic, or overly-sweet food recently? Food that is too hot or too cold can also cause pain.
How is a toothache treated in a child?
Treatment will depend on your child’s symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is.
Treatment of toothaches may include:
- Antibiotics
- Pain medicine
- Warm salt water rinses for the mouth
- Tooth removal
- Draining a pus-filled infection (abscess), if needed
- A simple filling, if needed
- Surgery to remove the inflamed pulp from the middle of the tooth (root canal)
- If the infection is severe, your child may be treated in a hospital. He or she may need antibiotics through an IV (intravenous) tube.
- Baby Teether Toys
Teething is an exciting milestone for your baby, but it can also be a difficult and painful one. many babies also experience pain and fussiness when they start teething.
Most babies get their first tooth around the 6-month mark, although the age range can vary by a few months. What’s more, teething symptoms — such as drooling, biting, crying, coughing, refusing to eat, night waking, ear pulling, cheek rubbing and generally being irritable — can actually start occurring a few months before baby’s first tooth appears.
So when this glorious but challenging milestone rolls around, what are the best ways to help ease your baby’s teething pain?
In addition to gently rubbing baby’s gums (with clean hands!) or giving her something cold to chew (many parents rely on a frozen wet washcloth or a sippy of ice cold water in a pinch), you may want to try giving baby teething toys.
Also called teethers, teething toys offer babies with sore gums something safe to chew on. This is helpful, because the gumming action offers counter pressure to baby’s brand-new teeth that can be soothing and help alleviate pain.
Choosing the best teething toys for your baby
Teething toys come in a range of different materials and styles, and there are more innovative designs than ever. Here is one of the best baby teething massager that I saw recently and I strongly recommend for the “GUMDOC massager.”
GUMDOC ™ is a simple and effective massaging device designed to relieve the pain of teething of babies and toddlers.
The GUMDOC™ is provided with two different heads. Both heads are made from TPR (Thermoplastic Rubber) where the baby is chewing & biting. Every baby would prefer a different design, therefore it is recommended to switch every once in a while to see which of the two available heads is preferred. For better results you can put the TPR heads in the refrigerator.
Using the GUMDOC™ is simple and intuitive, even for the baby! After attaching the head to the GUMDOC™, press the upper button to turn it on. Pass it to the baby to play with and learn how the vibration feels.
