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Teething is a process that all children experience. Most children get their first tooth around 6 months of age and have a complete set of 20 deciduous teeth by 30 months of age. Parental perceptions and beliefs about teething often influence the symptomatology a child experiences with tooth eruption. From medical professionals to grandmothers, everyone seems to have a list of symptoms they believe are linked to teething. “Teething, like colic, is an ill-defined nonevidence-based entity for which parents receive much advice.” (1) It is important to remember that during this same time period of an infant's life, passive immunity due to maternal antibodies wanes and exposure to a wide variety of childhood illnesses occurs. Due to this temporal relationship, teething often is blamed for symptoms such as changes in sleep and eating patterns, rhinorrhea, drooling, rash, fussiness, and...
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