How to soothe teething pain for 14 months old?

Updated on December 17, 2007
S.C. asks from Mitchell, SD
17 answers

Has anyone dealt with their child having such bad pain from teething that they will not eat? My son who is 16.5 months has 4 molars growing in at the same time and will barely eat anything. When he does eat he cries and spits the food out, or eats only with his front teeth. He doesnt really act like he is hungry but we keep offering his favorite foods, soft ones, but he wont eat. Should I take him to his pediatrician or a dentist? I am having a hard time dealing with this as his sister never went through any problems with teething so I am not sure how to handle it. Please, any info or similar experiences would help!!!! Thank you.
Shane

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Summary

Keep lots of cold rags or iced teething chews handy to ease the pain. If the pain really hurts try Tylenol. Just comfort him with cuddles, soothing music and rock him when the pain is overwhelming for him. If nothing works, consult with your pediatrician.

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K.L.

answers from Madison on

I agree. Hyland's Teething Tablets are wonderful. I used them for all 3 of my kids. Walgreens and Whole Foods also carry them. If he doesn't want to eat, I'd let him be as long as he's getting enough fluids. Maybe a fruit smoothie?

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A.B.

answers from Des Moines on

Try Hyland's brand Teething Tablets. They are homeopathic (herbal) and work great! You just melt a few in a spoon of water and give it to the baby. You can find them at Campbell's or any health food store. Dahl's and Walmart might also carry them now too. Give him those and then try feeding him. Also, you might try frozen fruits/vegetables to chew on or mashed up. The cold might help. They have little mesh bags made specifically for those frozen foods also so the child can chew and suck on them through the mesh. Hope this helps.

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D.S.

answers from Saginaw on

my daughter had all 4 molars come in at the same time, 14 months. i'd give her motrin to ease the pain about 30 min before meals. make sure the food is not too warm too. the important thing is to make sure he drinks alot, to stay hydrated. it takes a while, but it will pass! good luck!

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P.M.

answers from Des Moines on

I would recommend teething tablets. This is homepathic pain reliever that reduces the inflammation in the capillaries within the gums. This in turn will help reduce the pressure against the gums. The teething tab typcially provide relief within 5-10 minutes. This is also safe to use along side an infant pain reliever, such as motrin. I prefer Motrin because it seems to provider better relief for a longer period of time. The one draw back is it does take a little longer to take effect. Also be sure the keep him hydrated, push fluids. More than likely your child will not eat because of the pain. You may also try serving cold soft foods suchs as jello, pudding and apple sauce. A good old fashion teething ring can also work wonders. If not teething ring, crush up some ice and let him eat ice. Good Luck, teething is no fun and even worse with more than one tooth trying to break through at once.

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R.W.

answers from Jackson on

He's fine. Don't worry :-) Kids won't starve themselves and the teething pain will be gone in just a matter of days.

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M.W.

answers from Milwaukee on

All 3 of my now-grown children had problems with teething -- it was the only time they had diaper rash, it was the only time they were really fussy. My baby son was hungry and wanted to eat, but it hurt him to eat, and he reached from high chair to table and grabbed a large dill pickle and stuck it in his mouth. He made a face because it was cold and salty and sour and warty, but then he gnashed his gums down on it over and over and then started rubbing it over his sore gums and it seemed to help a lot. The pickles are leathery and flexible and that seemed to soothe him. At first I would just throw out the pickle he'd been gnawing on, but it got expensive, so I left his pickle in the jar and refrigerated it between meals and they lasted a week or more. I found that the same thing worked for my 2 younger kids. The sour, lumpy, leathery, cold pickle soothed their pain. Sounds really weird, but it worked for all my 3.

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A.A.

answers from Kalamazoo on

I wouldn't hesitate to call your Doctor and see if they have suggestions. Try feeding him cold things at meal time. Things like frozen or very chilled fruit (my kids love blueberries!). Sometimes the cold helps my kids with teething pain. And don't forget the pain medicine...I believe motrin helps with swelling also so that would be good if his gums are swollen and sore.
Good luck...hope it doesn't last long.

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M.H.

answers from Jackson on

Hello,

my daughter also has been one to cut more than one tooth at a time and then refuse food. In order to solve the problem I feed her stage 3 foods and stage 2 fruits when she is teething she seems to be more receptive to eat this way.

also we use the cotton swab teething things from oragel. the medicine is in the cotton swab you break off one end the medicine comes down and then you swab their little mouths. The medicine goes where you need it to and you dont get bitten.

plus we give her motrin for the pain 1 hour prior to meals.

hope this helps and good luck

M.

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K.H.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I used the baby orajel for my son and I agree giving your son Motron or any other relief medicine. I also gave otter pops because they are so cold. I wouldn't spend the money to go to the doctor as of yet because I was told that kids go through phases and don't eat at much at times. So he will be fine and will eat when he wants. You might try soft foods. Good luck!

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L.C.

answers from Lansing on

My son is a hard teether as well. don't worry about the eating, it will resolve on it's own. My son would be miserable for weeks with teething and the only thing that helped was tylenol or motrin paired with Hylands Teething Tablets. They are AMAZINGGGGG

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K.V.

answers from Madison on

My daughter got all of her teeth 2 at a time, and it was painful for her also. You might try giving your son cold foods, frozen peas were a favorite here, and really cold applesauce. I know that the teething remedies like Orajel taste bad, but if they are the only thing that helps, put them in the freezer for a while before using it also. Anything cold really helped my daughter.

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A.B.

answers from Provo on

You might want to try putting oragel on them and them feeding him so that they are not hurting while he is eating, also a little tylenol wont hurt once in a while. I have four children and I am going through the teething thing right now with my last one, not fun, so I completely understand where your coming from. Hang in there!!

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M.B.

answers from Boise on

Hi Shane. Do you live here in Boise id? If you do please contact me and i have something that will help alot and you can come to my house and get it. If not living here let me know where you are and i will see if someone in your town can get you the same stuff. thx.

M. B.
____@____.com

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K.K.

answers from St. Cloud on

The only thing your pediatrician will tell you is to keep trying to give him whatever foods you think he'll eat. As long as you keep him hydrated, that's the most important. If it comes down to him not drinking fluids, he'll get dehydrated and then you'll have to take him in for IV fluids. There's nothing else they can or will do about that. With my kids, it came down to just eating popsicles and ice cream or sherbert until the teeth came in. Oh, I almost forgot, your pediatrician will also tell you that you can double up on Tylenol and Motrin for the best pain relief (if you haven't already tried that). It won't hurt them to have both. They are too different pain relievers. I'd love to hear how it turns out. Good luck!

K. K--mother of 3 (ages 5,4, 9 months)

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T.L.

answers from Des Moines on

I had this same problem with both my boys when teething (especially their molars). They wouldn't eat hardly anything for several days in a row. I was worried when my first one did this (I thought maybe he was going to starve!), but then I recognized that it would pass when my 2nd one did the same thing.
I just kept giving them Tylenol or Motrin and stuff to drink. It seemed that once their pain went away, they started eating again on their own. When they did start eating again it seemed they ate "alot" that 1st day or so, like they were "making up" for the days they didn't eat much. I did the same thing you are doing too- offering them their favorite foods and hoping they would at least eat something! Hang in there for a few days....

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T.L.

answers from Milwaukee on

My son who is 19 months old has three teeth (2 of them molars) coming in right now. He is also having a very hard time eating. We have been giving him really soft foods like yogurt, mac and cheese sometimes pb and j will work. We have even gone back to giving him baby food just to get him some nutrition. I usually will give him some orajel before meals and motrin if he seems really bad but I try not to use the motrin a lot. But the teething will pass and as long as he is a healthy boy and not eating doesn't seem to bother him, it shouldn't hurt him for a short time to barely eat anything.

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A.S.

answers from Rochester on

my now 12 year old got all four of his in the same day and the days leading up to it he wouldn't eat either and being my first kid I call the ped. He just said to give him something for the pain and give it a bit to kick in and than offer the food if he still wont take it just make sure he is hydrated the teeth will come through soon he will be fine. Good luck!!

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