Can teething cause decreased appetite in babies? Parents typically notice sudden eating habit changes in their children as mealtime food refusal behaviors. Developing teeth from teething presents significant dental progress for babies yet creates painful discomfort that affects their food habits while changing their overall actions. When a baby experiences gum soreness, irritability, and disrupted sleep, their appetite for food decreases. This article examines the connection between teething and appetite changes and then provides actionable guidance for the health and nutrition of your little one during this period.
What Is Teething?
Teething refers to the natural process by which infants' first teeth emerge from their gums. The development of teeth emergence causes widespread discomfort and observable behavioral changes in infants.
When Does Teething Begin for Infants?
The typical teething phase begins between 4 months and 7 months, although every infant develops teething at different times. Newborns show their first teeth anytime between their third month and their first birthday. Infants begin teething when their front teeth, called central incisors, emerge through their gums. These teeth are situated at the bottom of the smile area.
Can Teething Cause Decreased Appetite?
Yes, teething can cause decreased appetite in babies. A baby's discomfort from teething and pain makes bottle feeding and eating solids painful. Gum discomfort creates hypersensitivity, making feeding time painful and leading babies to skip meals. The symptoms of teething, excessive drooling, and disturbed sleep result in reduced food intake for babies.
How Long Do Babies Lose Appetite When Teething?
Most babies experience a reduced appetite for a few days around the time each new tooth breaks through the gums. The good news is that this phase is temporary. Once the tooth breaks through and discomfort eases, appetite typically returns to normal.
What Are the Symptoms of Teething?
Various symptoms emerge from teething, yet different babies will experience these symptoms differently. Here are some usual indications to be aware of:
- Drooling
Excessive drooling represents one of the initial signs parents notice when their newborn starts teething. The body creates additional saliva when new teeth emerge through the gums to protect this sensitive region. Some infants develop light rashes on their neck and chin as their drool moistens these areas. It mainly occurs when teething saliva bothers their skin.
- Irritability or Fussiness
When new teeth erupt through gums, your baby may exhibit unsettled behavior and irritability caused by inflamed and sore gums. Your baby experiences the most intense discomfort while nursing and attempting to fall asleep. When teeth start reaching the surface of the gums, most infants show increased fussiness and irritability.
Chewing emerges naturally as one of the main teething behaviors for babies. Infants naturally place anything within their reach, including their fingers, toys or parts of their clothing, into their mouth to alleviate sore gums pressure. Massaging action on gums occurs through this process while providing temporary relief to their discomfort.
- Swollen or Tender Gums
The emergence of new teeth leads to red, swollen, or bulging gums, which you can observe in your baby. The location where a new tooth will emerge becomes sore to touch and unusually sensitive to the area surrounding the future tooth socket. Teething displays one of its most evident features through swollen and tender gums.
- Trouble Sleeping
Teething can disrupt sleep patterns. Swollen gums cause sleep problems because they make your baby wake up often during night hours and struggle to rest. The discomfort from teething causes babies to experience difficulty resting, which results in disordered nighttime sleep patterns.
- Loss of Appetite
Teething pain disrupts standard sucking habits, thereby leading to reduced food intake in babies. Babies experience feeding problems during teething because they reduce their food intake or stop eating entirely regardless of breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, or solid food methods.
- Ear Pulling or Cheek Rubbing
Teething infants commonly experience pain that spreads from their affected gums to various areas of their body. Tension on the gums during teething produces painful sensations that spread through the body, impacting the ear region and cheek area. Babies use three different self-soothing behaviors when their teething pain affects their ears: ear tugging, cheek rubbing, and placing their face against their hands.
High fevers and diarrhea or rashes require pediatrician evaluation because these symptoms do not typically occur when teeth emerge.
How Can I Soothe My Teething Baby?
Both babies and their parents experience hard times because of teething. Your little one will likely require additional comfort because swollen gums can lead to disrupted sleep during this stage. Several proven relief methods exist for soothing teething symptoms while using the proper tools and necessary care.
Cooling Teethers
Cooling teethers provide proven relief by numbing swollen gums. The Momcozy Water Fillable Teether allows parents to add water and place it in the refrigerator for soothing relief while being chewed. Its design perfectly fits hands of any size, and the rough surface provides essential gum massage during chewing.
Textured Teething Toys
Textured teething toys assist with gum pain relief for babies and contribute to sensory stimulation development. The Momcozy Baby Teether Toys feature soft, BPA-free components with bite points of different shapes and textures, which make simple grasping feasible for children with small hands. Texture patterns on these products perform gentle massages of sore areas to help babies calm down and develop their motor abilities.
Relief with Medications
If teething pain is disrupting sleep or feeding, your pediatrician may recommend medication for added comfort:
- Infant Acetaminophen(.g., Tylenol): Infant Acetaminophen, like Tylenol, is a safe option for infants over the age of two months to manage pain and low-grade fever.
- Infant Ibuprofen(e.g., Motrin, Advil): Infant Ibuprofen drugs like Motrin or Advil work best for babies older than 6 months by giving extended pain relief through nighttime.
Always consult your pediatrician before giving teething gels or homeopathic remedies to babies since some of these products contain harmful ingredients for infants.
Why Teething Symptoms Are Often Confused With Cold Symptoms
These signs of teething and colds are so similar that parents generally confuse them. The typical symptoms of teething in babies include drooling, heavily disrupted sleep patterns, and restlessness, identical to what happens during mild cold infections.
A slight increase in body temperature is normal during teething as long as it remains under 100.4°F. However, a minor temperature increase often deceives caregivers into thinking their child needs medical attention. Teething babies increase their contact with germs after putting toys and objects into their mouths, leading to actual cold infections.
If your baby displays these symptoms, medical assistance from a pediatrician should be obtained because they indicate separate underlying health problems. Parents who notice different distress signals can manage discomfort effectively while assessing whether serious health problems exist.
Other Reasons Why Your Baby Doesn't Want to Eat
Teething is a prevalent cause of appetite decrease in newborns, but your child can also develop food aversions for various other reasons. Analyzing factors that prevent your baby from eating will enable you to resolve feeding problems safely.
- Illness or Infection: A cold, an ear infection, or digestive problems can cause reduced hunger in babies.
- Growth Spurts: Babies tend to eat less food when they experience rapid growth stages.
- Teething Discomfort: Teeth development produces sore gums, which cause discomfort when eating.
- Changes in Routine: An abrupt change in daily patterns from travel or switching to a new caregiver often results in decreased appetite.
- Distractions: Too many distractions during meals can make your little one stop eating their food.
Tips to Get Your Baby Eating
Your baby's food refusal can create frustration for you as a parent. Several approaches exist for encouraging feeding and creating a comfortable eating environment for your child during their meals. The following guidelines will help your baby return to eating:
- Offer Soft, Cool Foods: Soft, chilled foods should be provided to babies who are teething or encountering health issues because these foods ease both gum discomfort and intestinal distress. Cooled yogurt, apple sauce, and fruit purees work as comforting yet nutritious alternatives.
- Stick to a Routine: Settling their mealtimes at regular times helps babies understand what to expect while feeling safer. Find a peaceful space that minimizes distractions because it helps your baby concentrate on their meal.
- Try Different Textures: Introduce your baby to diverse textures that are safe for their age group to develop their sensory exploration. Soft finger foods, small portions of mashed vegetables, and soft, small-sized fruits enable babies to discover new food-eating experiences.
- Make Mealtimes Fun: Mealtime can be a bonding experience. Use gentle encouragement, playful sounds, or baby-safe utensils in fun colors. Making it a game or singing a song can create positive associations with eating.
- Offer Small, Frequent Meals: Providing your baby with smaller meals at more frequent intervals enables them to maintain a positive eating experience. This method relieves feeding pressure and enables appetite development at a steady pace.
- Keep Them Hydrated: Your baby should stay hydrated through breast milk, formula consumption, or suitable amounts of water according to age. Drinking adequate fluids benefits both physical wellness and promotes energy levels and comfort.
Conclusion
Teething reduces appetite because it produces discomfort in the gums. During this stage, your baby may display drooling, irritability, and sleep disturbances as symptoms. Teething pain can be alleviated through natural cooling remedies such as teethers and medical therapy methods. You should contact your pediatrician if your baby continues to lose appetite or displays illness symptoms beyond teething symptoms. This phase is temporary and will pass with time.
