✓ Teething in Babies: Fever is a false myth

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Does the child have a fever due to the teeth?

"The child has a high fever, it will be his teeth." How many times have we heard this sentence uttered. But will it be true?

What are the real symptoms that accompany the eruption of milk teeth? Answering this question is not easy, because there are not many studies available on the subject and they have various limitations. A group of Brazilian researchers, however, tried to shed light on the issue, putting together the results of the best studies: about fifteen in all, conducted in various countries around the world and published between the late 2022s and XNUMX.

The conclusion, which appeared in the journal Pediatrics, is that the symptoms that can be safely attributed to teething - and that they affect about 70% of children - there are three, namely:

reddened gums,
irritability
and abundant salivation.

Red gums, irritability and abundant salivation are the main symptoms that accompany the eruption of the first teeth.

The greatest discomfort occurs with the arrival of the first teeth, in particular the incisors, while the symptoms tend to lessen as the dentition proceeds. Moreover, this is a conclusion perfectly in line with what was declared by the American Association of Pediatric Dentists, for which the eruption of milk teeth only involves some local discomfort, irritation and profuse salivation.

What about the fever? Below 37,5 ° C

And what about the fever? Well, what is recorded is, at most, a slight rise in temperature, which still remains below 37,5 ° C, ie the value considered "fever" by the World Health Organization.

Eruption of multiple teeth and the appearance of ailments

For the sake of precision, however, it should be emphasized that according to an old American study there is an association between the eruption of several teeth at the same time and the appearance of fever, small respiratory problems and a little loss of appetite. All probably due to an increase in stress for the child, in turn linked to a decrease in defenses against infections.

In short, if the child has a fever, better not to blame the teeth (some doctors still do it too), and investigate the situation better, because there could be something else underneath.