If your baby has teeth or will get them . . .

Mrs.Rose

Yes, that means everyone

What do you think of this:  My FIL talked to his dentist who told him that the best way to eliminate the weeks of teething is to take a wet washcloth and "blanch" (rub) over the baby's gums where the tooth is coming in.  He said the baby will scream bloody murder when you do it, but it will rub away the gums and allow the tooth to pop out quickly, avoiding the pain of the tooth having to push through the gums over days/weeks. 

I don't know if I could ever do this (or if I even would) but wanted to see what you ladies thought.

Goodysgirl

I know a lot of people who freeze a wet washcloth and let their baby chew it.  I'll give DD the choice of chewing a frozen washcloth, but I wouldn't do what that dentist said - doesn't sound natural to me.

jess1984

By them chewing on everything it's supposed to do similar things... so I don't know if you really need to if your child is always chewing on something... also I give C a wet frozen wash cloth to chew on so maybe that helps thngs along... lol.

StephanieBride1

I don't want my child to endure more pain that they are already in from teething. I will let him chew on teethers and washcloths, but I'm not going to force the teeth through the gums.

Mrs.Rose

StephanieBride1:

I don't want my child to endure more pain that they are already in from teething. I will let him chew on teethers and washcloths, but I'm not going to force the teeth through the gums.

I think the dentist's point was that you save them from more and prolonged pain in exchange for a few seconds of pain all at once.  The tooth pops out on its own - you just pave the way for it to come out quickly.