Abstract
Throughout history, teething has been held responsible for a variety of childhood illnesses. The objective of this study was to assess parents' knowledge and beliefs about teething signs and symptoms and to investigate the practices used to alleviate teething troubles. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to 550 parents in Udaipur, India. The questionnaire contained three sections eliciting demographic characteristics and assessing parents' knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding teething. Statistical analysis used descriptive statistics and the chi-squared test (p £ 0.05). Response to teething was incorrectly attributed to fever (70%), diarrhea (87.5%), and sleep disturbances (48.2%). Only 33.2% of parents allowed their children to bite on chilled objects to relieve symptoms associated with teething. A common lack of knowledge about teething among parents should encourage dental healthcare providers to educate them regarding the teething process and its management.
Highlights
Tooth eruption is defined as the process by which a tooth moves from its developmental position within the jaw and emerges into the oral cavity.[1]
A variety of physical disturbances have historically been attributed to teething; these include pain, inflammation of the mucous membrane overlying the tooth, irritability, disturbed sleep, facial flushing, drooling, gum irritation, bowel upset, loss of appetite, and ear rubbing on the side of the erupting tooth.[2]
Sex was not significantly related to knowledge about
Summary
Tooth eruption is defined as the process by which a tooth moves from its developmental position within the jaw and emerges into the oral cavity.[1] The relationship between the eruption of deciduous teeth and infants’ general health has been documented for more than 5,000 years. A variety of physical disturbances have historically been attributed to teething; these include pain, inflammation of the mucous membrane overlying the tooth, irritability, disturbed sleep, facial flushing, drooling, gum irritation, bowel upset, loss of appetite, and ear rubbing on the side of the erupting tooth.[2]. In a survey of 201 infants aged 6–12 months in Calcutta, Chakraborty et al.[5] found that the most common disturbance was gum inflammation, followed by cheek flushing, mouth ulcers, cheek rashes, and eruption cysts
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