How long does a baby's teeth last?

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Anorexia usually occurs when babies get their first teeth. However, experts observed that the phenomenon of children refusing to eat when teething occurs more often than when teething molars or incisors. So what to do when the baby is teething and refuses to eat? And how long does it take for a baby to stop eating when teething?

1. Do teething babies stop eating?

According to experts, when the baby is teething, there will be anorexia, skipping meals. The cause is due to the pain and discomfort that appear when the teeth erupt.
When your baby is teething, the gums will become red and gradually crack to allow the baby teeth to begin to erupt. The process of cracking gums causes pain, fever, irritability, and fussiness, leading to anorexia, even refusal to eat.
In some cases, teething babies also have other symptoms such as digestive disorders, rashes, redness on the chin,... All these conditions make children tired and lazy to eat.
In addition, when the baby teething, the enzymes in the baby's body begin to focus on the areas where the teeth are growing to support the teeth to come out soon. This causes digestive enzymes to be reduced, so the child will not feel appetite when eating, leading to anorexia.

2. How long do babies stop eating when teething?

There are many studies that show that children often lose their appetite when their canines are teething. But the canines usually erupt when the child is 16-22 months old. However, each child has a different body, so there will also be children who will stop eating due to molars, front teeth, .. right from 6 months old.
Some signs for you to recognize that your baby is not eating due to teething include:
Swollen, red gums, hot to the touch. In some cases, your baby can develop gum disease if you don't clean your child's teeth properly. Children drool frequently. Occurrence of symptoms such as fever, digestive disorders, rash, runny nose, cough, ... Children put their hands in their mouths, especially swollen gums. Children are fussy, irritable, tired, anorexic, stop breastfeeding, ... Children with teeth stop eating until the tooth comes out, usually from 3 to 5 days. However, the exact time children stop eating when teething will depend on each baby's location.
If the child has good resistance, the teething process is less painful, then the child may only be anorexic for a few days. For children with poorer health, the teething time will also last longer, which means that the baby is anorexic or stops eating for a longer time.
The teething process will cause the baby to suffer a lot of pain and discomfort, so you need to be patient when taking care of the child. Besides, you also need to equip yourself with basic knowledge about how to take care of and clean teeth when your baby is teething to protect them properly.

3. Teething children stop eating what to do?

It is quite common for children to stop eating when teething. Therefore, you need to take care of your child properly to prevent complications and minimize possible negative effects.
3.1 Increase water supply for children The pain that occurs when teething will make the child anorexic, so you always remember to add enough water for the child. If you are dehydrated, your baby is very susceptible to physical weakness that you hardly realize, thereby affecting your baby's health.
3.2 Clean your baby's gums and oral cavity You should clean your baby's gums every day with a soft cloth and physiological saline. This will help limit the risk of tooth and gum infections when teething.
Besides, you also do not let your baby suck on a pacifier or bottle nipple while sleeping. Because this will create favorable conditions for bacteria, harmful agents to enter and grow, causing gingivitis.
3.3 Soothe swollen gums and discomfort for your baby Massage your baby's gums with a soft towel to help ease the pain, help your baby eat better and sleep better.
In addition, you can also clean your baby's teeth and gums with chives water to increase the ability to disinfect and soothe the gums. This will help the child feel more comfortable.
3.4 Be patient and play with the child so that the child temporarily forgets the pain You should keep calm, be patient and spend more time taking care of the child, playing with the child so that the child can overcome the "crisis" period soon. this.

4. Good foods for teething babies to stop eating

Just because a teething child stops eating does not mean that the child is allowed to not eat or drink anything. You can refer to some of the foods below for babies to eat when teething.
Breast milk is always the best source of nutrition and should not be a substitute for babies. However, after breastfeeding, you need to clean the baby's oral cavity. Soft foods, easy to chew and swallow: Dishes such as fish porridge, eel soup, noodles, vermicelli cooked with bone broth,... You should divide up your daily portion size so that your child won't be afraid to eat too much. many at once. Increase calcium supplements for children to stimulate teething and help strengthen teeth. Foods rich in calcium such as shrimp, fish, crab, white beans, kiwi, oranges, tangerines, strawberries,... Regularly give children fruit juices and milk to provide adequate vitamins, calcium and essential minerals. to help strengthen the child's immune system.

Unsweetened, low-sugar yogurts are also a good choice. With the characteristic coldness of yogurt, it will help cool down the area where the teeth are growing, making the child feel more comfortable. In addition, you can also let your baby chew on some harder foods such as carrots, radishes, .. Moderate chewing force when eating will stimulate teeth to grow faster.
Although the phenomenon of children anorexia when teething is not a dangerous phenomenon, does not affect too much health. But if the child is not cared for properly, it can cause the baby to develop more slowly.
At the teething stage, most children have anorexia, but you should not force them to eat to avoid anorexia. You can give your children zinc, B vitamins, lysine, and probiotics to help them eat better.
Taking care of children in the period from 6 months to 3 years old is the age when baby teeth begin to erupt, babies are very susceptible to respiratory problems, respiratory infections, skin diseases and infections. Digestive tract ... parents need to pay special attention to dental care and provide adequate nutrition for children.
In addition to taking care of children's teeth, parents also need to focus on their children's nutrition at this stage, they need to add essential micronutrients such as: Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamins B1 and B6, ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C),... to improve taste, eat well, achieve height and weight in accordance with and exceed standards, good immune system, enhance resistance to reduce minor illnesses and Fewer digestive problems.
Also according to leading nutrition experts, parents need to be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for children, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow simultaneous use of many types or continuously change the types of functional foods. Besides, during this period, nutritionists also emphasized the role of biological zinc; Parents should learn and supplement zinc for children properly at the appropriate time, to avoid zinc deficiency affecting the comprehensive development of children.
To have more knowledge about raising children and taking care of children by age, you should regularly visit the website https://vinmec.com and make an appointment with the leading doctors, pediatric experts - Nutrition when visiting the website https://vinmec.com need advice.