What should be noted when a four-month-old baby starts teething?

Generally, when a four-month-old baby starts teething, attention should be paid to oral hygiene, providing suitable teething items, monitoring the baby's emotional changes, ensuring adequate nutrition, and implementing safety precautions. Detailed explanations are as follows:

1. Oral Hygiene

After the baby's teeth begin to erupt, parents can use a soft, damp gauze pad or an infant finger toothbrush to gently wipe the baby's gums, emerging teeth, and oral mucosa at least twice daily. This helps remove residual milk stains and food debris, reduces bacterial growth, and prevents tooth decay and oral infections.

2. Provide Suitable Teething Items

Parents can offer the baby safe teething toys or teething biscuits. Teething toys are typically made of non-toxic materials such as silicone and have appropriate firmness and elasticity. Chewing on them can relieve gum itching and discomfort during teething and also promote the development of oral muscles and the jawbone. Teething biscuits can satisfy the baby's need for chewing and help develop swallowing abilities. However, parents should supervise closely to prevent the biscuits from breaking and causing choking.

3. Monitor the Baby's Emotional Changes

Babies undergoing teething may become irritable, cry more frequently, and experience disrupted sleep due to gum discomfort. Parents should offer increased patience and comfort, using gentle soothing techniques, lightly massaging the gums, or playing calming music to help ease the baby's discomfort and foster a sense of security.

4. Ensure Proper Nutrition

Ensure the baby receives adequate nutrients, especially calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, which are crucial for tooth development. Breast milk or formula remains the primary source of nutrition. When introducing complementary foods, parents can include calcium-rich foods and, if necessary, provide vitamin D supplements as recommended by a doctor to enhance calcium absorption and support healthy tooth development.

5. Implement Safety Precautions

As the baby begins teething, their urge to chew increases, so it is important to ensure a safe environment. Check the baby's crib, playpen, and other equipment to ensure there are no sharp edges or easily detachable parts that could cause injury when chewed.

Regular dental checkups should be scheduled. It is recommended that the baby visit a dentist after the first tooth erupts so that the dentist can assess the baby's oral health status.