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22 - 24 months

All about teething in a two-year-old

10 March 2020 | By Vanessa Rogers

When it comes to teething pain in the toddler age group, nothing beats a night-time cuddle from mom or dad. Unfortunately, second-year molars come in at any time between 22 and 30 months, and can prove a painful experience for the toddler in question. Here’s how to help.

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In this age group, the entertainment factor of a toy, game, song or book may work better than the actual recommended dose of pain medication for that level of teething; in fact, toddlers often consider the cure for a sore mouth (i.e. an innocent spoonful of Calpol or Panado Syrup before bedtime), as a chore that’s worse to endure than the actual teething ache. 

But, when you have a major workday ahead, it pays to force the issue and make sure that the pain meds go in and down – even if you have to use one of those magical syringe-type tipping devices.

How can you ease your toddler’s teething discomfort?

•    A local cold compress, applied to the gums – try a teething ring that’s been stored, hygienically, in the fridge for a while, such as the Playgro Textured Teething Rattle (R79,99 at Clicks); 
•    Pressure on the gums – by encouraging your child to chew on biltong, a rusk, or any sort of healthy food that’s specifically designed for teething, such as Hey Baby Teething Biscuits (R42,99 at Clicks); or
•    Dab of Teejel Gel (R45,99 at Clicks) rubbed onto the aching gums.

Did you know?

A baby’s teeth are formed in their mother’s womb, so an adequate calcium intake in the pregnant mother is absolutely vital.

Painful gums and grumpy toddlers

Most normal milk teeth emerge at around six months and, at some stage between 18 and 30 months, second molars appear – creating a full set of 20 baby or milk teeth. “To emerge from the gum, teeth have to force their way through tissue and, as they do this, the tissue is stretched and torn, causing pain and inflammation … [for] between three and 10 days.” 

This is the explanation of teething from Marina Petropulos in her trusted Baby and Child Care Handbook. It really is completely understandable that your little one will drool, be grumpy and may battle to sleep over the course of this time. 

How can you treat your toddler’s teething pain?

Sister Cindy Homewood of the Bowwood Baby Clinic in Cape Town recommends Empaped suppositories for teething little ones “as they enter the mucous membrane more rapidly and efficiently to reduce pain, as well as not having too much of an effect on the child’s liver – which the Paracetamol syrup can have”.

Homewood advises that pre molars and molars are large teeth that must push through the gum; they take time to erupt. So it is understandable that your toddler may be miserable on and off for a while. “When children are cutting teeth they are often more dribbly and produce more mucous. 

On lying down to sleep,” she adds, “this mucous can drip into the ear canals and cause slight swelling, which may lead to the child waking up more frequently at night. To encourage swallowing of the mucous, it is a good idea to elevate the head of your child’s cot or bed slightly.”

IMAGE CREDIT: shutterstock.com

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