Teething / Dental FAQs

• My breastfed baby is 7 1/2 months old and happily eats some solids too. There are no signs of teething and I'm wondering if she lacks sufficient calcium. NEW!
  
• My 22 months old son has yellow stains on his teeth near the gums, I brush his teeth twice a day and also wash his mouth after every meal. Should I see a dentist?
• My baby hasn't grown any teeth yet. Is that OK?
• My baby is drooling a lot more lately, is this attributed to teething?

My breastfed baby is 7 1/2 months old and happily eats some solids too. There are no signs of teething and I'm wondering if she lacks sufficient calcium. I also noticed she has very soft nails and now am worried if her bones are developing alright and not getting softer gradually, though, I haven't seen any particular sign that shows a problem with her limbs or motor development. I just think, increasing her calcium intake will help, that’s all. Is it ok to consider that and what foods are enriched with calcium, suitable for babies this age?

It is common for a child's first tooth to erupt at 6 to 7 months of age; however, it is still normal not to see the first baby tooth until 12-13 months of age. What determines when the tooth erupts? Genetics. If a child comes from a family in which others got their first teeth later than average, then the child likely will be late to get the tooth. Calcium supplies do not affect the timing of tooth eruption.

Many babies have soft nails. This is normal, and also is not related to how much calcium a child gets. Healthy infants do not need supplemental calcium. The calcium content of breast milk, or formula, is more than adequate. Foods that infants like that are high in calcium: dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.). For older children there are also juices and other foods supplemented with extra calcium.
 

My 22 months old son has yellow stains on his teeth near the gums, I brush his teeth twice a day and also wash his mouth after every meal. Should I see a dentist?

I recommend taking your son to the dentist. Yellow stains on teeth, near the gum, could be caused by a number of things: dental plaque, a cavity or food stuck on to the tooth. Some times medications the child took months ago can affect developing teeth and when the tooth erupts you see a stain. Also, you might be seeing an area of the tooth that is missing the hard, outer coat (enamel). A pediatric dentist or a general dentist familiar with children will be able to tell which of these have caused the yellow staining.

Many dentists recommend that a child first go to the dentist at one year of age. However, unless there is a concern, I usually don't recommend a routine dental visit until age 2 and a half or so. To me, a child is ready to see the dentist when the child can open his or her mouth and let me look in, without fear.
 

My son will one year old on July 27th and he has not had his first tooth yet. Is this normal for babies?

It is quite normal to get teeth as late as 12 months old (I've even seen first teeth come in at 17 months old). Often, if your child gets his first tooth on the late side, there is a family history of late tooth eruption. Also, expect your child to be among the last to loose his baby teeth in a few years.
 

My baby is drooling a lot more lately, is this attributed to teething?

At 3-4 months of age all infants begin to drool profusely and enjoy biting down on hard objects. This is not "teething". Teething is the fussiness, extra drooling and chomping that occurs one to two days before a tooth appears. It is easy to blame almost any undesirable occurrence on teething - there are twenty new teeth arriving in the first 2-3 years of life and by coincidence a new tooth is bound to occur just as an illness or fever begins. That is why it is often (erroneously) stated that teething causes diarrhea, high fever, rashes, etc. While the average age for the eruption of the first tooth is six months of age, there is a wide range (3-12 months of age) and rarely a child is even born with a tooth already present.