What’s the deal with teething?

Teething is the natural process of teeth coming up through your child’s gums, which seems simple enough, but teething gets blamed for everything under the sun!

One of the most frequent questions we get is whether or not teething affects sleep and what parents should do about sleep when their child is teething. 

This blog post will answer all your questions about teething pain and sleep. If you’d like to read some of the evidence based research about teething, you can find several links throughout this post as well as at the end.

The Good and the Bad:

The bad news: Your child will continue getting new teeth until well past 2 years of age (from about 6 months to 33 months).

The good news: Extensive research has been done on teething and it turns out it’s not nearly as uncomfortable for babies as you may have thought!

How do I know if my baby is teething?

The only way to really know your baby or child is teething is for you to see red swollen gums and/or a small white area just underneath the gums. 

How long does teething pain last?

Teething pain only lasts for about 1-3 days before the tooth breaks through the gums. Once the tooth is through, the discomfort subsides. 

Symptoms of teething:

• Drooling

• Face rash from drooling (the drool contains little bits of food that are irritating to the skin).

• Chewing

• Mild gum pain

• Fussiness / irritability 

See the research HERE.

Symptoms that are NOT signs of teething:

Diarrhea: often teething occurs during other milestones that correspond with loose stools or true diarrhea (like starting solids or contracting sickness from bacteria acquired while crawling on the ground). Some think that the increase in saliva causes diarrhea but there is no supporting evidence for this. If your baby is experiencing diarrhea, it shouldn’t be associated with teething and it could be something more serious. All babies and kids will have loose stools here and there, but consistent diarrhea can cause dehydration and other serious complications. 

Fevers: Teething can cause a slight rise in your baby’s body temperature, but usually nothing over 100.4 F or 38C. Teething should never be blamed for a high fever as your child could have a true illness. 

According to THIS study regarding teething symptoms, more serious symptoms such as sleep awakenings, decreased appetite for solid foods, facial rashes, and slightly elevated temperatures (but not above 102 degrees), were more likely to occur one or two days before or on the same days a tooth came through.

No serious symptoms (no diarrhea, vomiting, high fevers, or reductions in the overall duration of sleep) were found to be associated with teething.

We don’t want you to assume anytime your baby has a random loose stool or a fever that they’re gravely ill, we just don’t want these symptoms to go ignored or downplayed because they’re thought to be from teething. Always use your mama intuition and never hesitate to reach out to your pediatrician.

Other symptoms not related to teething:

Diaper rash, cough, runny nose

Teething does not cause your child to be more prone to getting sick. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more frequent infections can start between 6 and 12 months of age because of, “the loss of antibodies transferred to baby from the mother at birth and the developmental milestone of chewing on everything.” 

Do and Don’ts to help with teething pain:

DO:

• Teething toys (avoid toys that can break or lose small pieces, including toys with liquid inside).

• Frozen washcloths: let your baby chew on a frozen washcloth, especially before bed, to help numb their gums, relieve pain, and decrease swelling. 

• Tylenol or Motrin (always talk to your doctor before using medication. Motrin isn't safe for babies younger than 6 months. For baby’s over 6 months old it will work better than Tylenol because teething pain is from inflammation). 

• Message the gums with your clean finger (rub the gums with gentle pressure).

• Read more evidence based research HERE.

DON’T:

• Avoid teething necklaces: these can be choking and strangulation hazards (American Academy of Pediatrics Recommendation and Explanation) 

• Avoid teething tablets that contain the plant poison belladonna and teething gels with benzocaine.

What does all of this have to do with sleep? 

Parents often wonder what to do with their child during the night when they suspect they’re teething. 

If your child is cutting a tooth, we recommend living life as usual. Babies need to sleep, even when they’re teething (especially since teething is going to happen for the first three years of their lives). If they need some extra cuddles, of course! Do what you feel is best. But teething shouldn’t cause everything to fall apart for weeks at a time.

Keep in mind that teething pain should only last for a few days (not weeks on end) and use the tools we shared above to help keep your little one as comfortable as possible. Once their tooth pops through, you can confidently know that they’re feeling ok.

If your child is showing signs other than those of teething (fever, diarrhea, cough, runny nose etc), teething should not be blamed. You should take whatever measures you need to help your child through the sickness. Always consult with your doctor, but don’t blow it off as, “just teething.”

How to maintain sleep during teething:

• Stick to your regular schedule. Make their sleep a priority during teething and maintain regular naps and bedtime. Overtired babies do not handle discomfort as well, so the goal is to help them be as rested as possible.

• Maintain a consistent and relaxing bedtime routine. You can watch our favorite bedtime routine HERE.

• Be proactive and try to have good sleep habits in place before teething begins. It’s much harder to establish good sleep habits if you are constantly worrying about when or if teething is going to happen.

If your child struggles with sleep, please know there is hope!

Our mission at the Goodnight House is to equip parents with the tools necessary to help their babies get the sleep they need and experience more rest, peace, and joy in parenting. 

One of the best things you can do to prepare for teething is lay the foundation for healthy sleep early on. Babies and children handle discomfort better when they’re well rested versus overtired. You can begin to lay the foundation for solid sleep from day one, when your baby is a newborn (before teething is even a thing). We can give you all the tools you need in our Online Newborn Class!

If you have an older baby or toddler, we offer 1:1 Personalized Sleep Plans to help get your child (5+ months) sleeping 10-12 hours per night.