Teething disturbances; prevalence of objective manifestations in children under age 4 months to 36 months

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to present data as responded by parents on teething manifestation during eruption of primary teeth and the occurrence of objective manifestations in children ages 4 months to 36 months. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Hospital based face-to-face questionnaire study. STUDY DESIGN: One thousand and one hundred children ages four to 36 months who had at least one erupting tooth were included in the study. Parents were asked to complete a short questionnaire and children were then checked by one of the authors. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Chi-square analysis was performed to analyze information obtained. Level of significance was set at P<.05. RESULTS: There were 660 girls (60%) and 440 boys (40%) in the study. The most frequent clinical manifestations were: Fever (16%), drooling (12%), diarrhea (8%), fever-drooling (15%), fever-diarrhea(8%) and drooling-diarrhea (6%). In the study sample, boys demonstrated a higher prevalence of diarrhea than girls (P<.05). No statistical significance regarding other clinical manifestations and gender were observed. Teething manifestations were most prevalent during the eruption of primary incisors. Occurrence of clinical manifestations in 4-12 months and 13-24 months age was statistically significant when compared with 25-36 months age (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An association has been shown between general objective manifestations like fever (the most prevalent), drooling and diarrhea, and the eruption of primary teeth. Most manifestations appeared during the eruption of the primary incisors.