How to Soothe Teething Pain With a Toothbrush

Infant Teething

Is your baby teething? You can help relieve teething pain with nothing more than a toothbrush. That's right, infant teething pain can be relieved by using a toothbrush. Learn how you can help your teething baby find relief and comfort today.

Things You'll Need

• Teething baby
• Toothbrush
• Infant teething pain

Instructions

Relieve Baby Teething Pain With a Toothbrush

1. Verify that the baby is in fact teething by checking the gums for swollen or warm areas. Many doctors insist that fever and diarrhea have no connection to teething but many mothers disagree. A breast fed baby will likely not get diarrhea, since their stools are runny to begin with. An increase in saliva (slobber) is also a sign that you have a baby teething. If the baby seems to be experiencing teething pain, give him something firm to chew on.

2. Give baby a toothbrush. Toothbrushes are firm enough to provide teething pain relief and when a baby is teething, they have an instinct to chew on things to relieve that pain. Also, experiencing the feeling of using a toothbrush can be a great habit because when baby's teeth do come in, they'll be used to the sensation of brushing their teeth.

3. 

   Allow baby to chew on the toothbrush as often as he's willing. Infant teething occurs quite often during the first two years of baby's life and a toothbrush can help relieve teething pain whether they're working on their two front teeth or their two year molars. Keep a toothbrush in the baby's toy basket.

4. Clean baby's toothbrush regularly. Many toothbrushes are dishwasher safe and a quick soak in hot soapy water followed by a thorough rinse is often all that's needed to clean a toothbrush. Keeping it clean won't relieve teething pain, but it will help contain germs and keep them from growing in the bristles.

5. Be on the lookout for molars around 12 months. Many parents have nicknamed the back chewing teeth "12 month molars," "2 yr molars," because they generally break through around 1 and 2 years and each year or two afterward until the child reaches puberty. Before the children reach an age where they're regularly chewing solid foods, these teeth can cause teething pain and symptoms. Allow the baby to chew on a toothbrush while they're working on their one year molars, and it can relieve teething pain just like when they were smaller.

Tips & Warnings

• Refrigerating several toothbrushes is a good idea, because infant teething pain is often reduced by chewing on something cold. Coldness can reduce painful swelling of the gums.

• When you give baby a toothbrush to relieve teething pain, do not let the baby use it in the car because it could present a poking hazard.