If there’s one major milestone in a child’s life that many parents may want to skip over, then it has to be teething. Although she’s happy when her son flashes his two tiny bottom teeth every time he smiles, the process it took to get them isn’t easy for parents or their babies.

The good news about teething is that all the suffering you went through is not wasted. Teething, like crawling, walking, and talking, is a very important milestone that shows your child is on the right developmental track. Let’s take a quick look at them.

Types of development.

We can classify this into physical and language development. The first thing that should make parents happy is that their baby’s teeth will allow him to eat a full diet. In addition, the eruption of teeth also means that your child is gradually preparing to tear apart meat and munch on beans. In a nutshell, you can see that teething offers a knock-on effect on your child’s weight gain, increased immunity, as well as improved bone and brain development.

Another important transformation is that your child’s teeth will help their emerging language skills. As your child begins to have teeth and can bite and chew more and more textured foods, they are at the same time exercising and developing the underlying oral motor, speech development muscles of the jaw, cheeks, tongue and lips .

When to expect teething

Teething normally begins when your baby is 6 months old, but this can start as early as 3 months of age. In a nutshell, the age at which your baby begins to grow their first tooth simply depends on the family history of teething. However, if teething started early, there is a tendency for your child to follow the same pattern.

Typically, the central incisors, which are the two lower front teeth, are the first group of teeth to erupt, followed by the central and lateral incisors, which are the four upper front teeth. However, your child may experience some variations in the order in which this occurs, but this is not worth worrying about. Before your baby is almost 3 years old, she will have developed a full set of primary (baby) teeth.

What parents should expect

Not all babies experience teething symptoms. However, for those who are not so lucky, the appearance of those little teeth can create a lot of misery. Some of the symptoms that your baby may experience during this period include drooling, which can also create some type of rash on the baby’s face or chin. Other symptoms include gum swelling and tenderness, biting, irritability, face rubbing, and ear pulling. In some cases, the baby may even refuse to eat or drink.

What you can do to help your baby teething

There are ways parents can help their teething baby feel better.

Use a teething toothbrush

You can give your baby a toy toothbrush to play with. It should be something that is safe for the baby to chew on. You can choose eco-friendly toothbrush toys that are made from FDA-approved silicone material. It should also be something your baby can handle firmly.

Benefits of using a teething toothbrush

Sometimes it can be very difficult, when you are trying to apply gel or granules to your teething child’s gums. The bite you receive when you put your finger in your mouth is usually very painful. You can conveniently put your gel or granules in the teether and give it to your child to put in their mouth, instead of putting their finger in their mouth, which can be unhygienic.

The toothbrush style teether will also help children to cultivate a good dental hygiene habit and it is quite a learning process for children.

The toothbrush teething toy you give him should have an attractive and fun design, to help keep his mind off the pain of teething.