Spirit Dance Publishing | Look Inside Teething Guide

“It's just teething.” I said these words many times to new parents during my early years as a pediatrician when they were calling me or visiting my office to tell me that their babies were very uncomfortable, cranky, sleeping or eating less, biting, or ... all of these!

I will never use that phrase again lightly because it diminishes the importance and impact of teething, which is one of the most important phases in the first years of life. The phrase ‘just teething’ simply underestimates crucial anatomical and physiological changes that begin in infancy and continue into the teenage and young adult years.

As I read The Complete Teething Guide, I found myself learning much more in a few short hours than I had gleaned from several years of pediatric training and practice. This book gave me a valuable refresher course on the nutritional aspects of teething and tooth formation and a solid chronology of the way baby teeth come in, and how they are replaced, renewed and replenished.

Perhaps the most important information centers on how to deal with the “middle-of-the-night” issues, showing parents how they can help babies and children with teething pain, teething mood swings and even illness. I agree with Kathy that the stress of teething can and does affect the way the immune system fights off childhood illnesses. Both standard and alternative remedies are evaluated and discussed. The Complete Teething Guide provides good reading and good information for doctors and patients alike. (I hope your doctor reads this book, but I’m not optimistic: Summarize the key points and tell him or her about them!)

Other important issues addressed include fluoride and orthodontics. I don’t think babies and children should receive fluoride supplements and my ambivalence about dental sealants was confirmed by research shared within these pages. Also, in my practice, I get daily questions about orthodontia and Kathy answers these questions better than I ever could.

This very readable book has a wealth of practical advice, whether it's choosing a dentist or a toothbrush and toothpaste and makes sure that these common questions are addressed thoroughly and intelligently. The section on hazards and emergency matters is very well done and, again, helped me remember the key points I’d learned in my training.

Equally important to me, though, is an emphasis of breastfeeding’s beneficial effect on dental health and cavity prevention. There are still doctors and dentists who don’t know that breast milk nourishes teeth and, instead, tell mothers they must stop nursing at night or their babies will get more cavities. This book may go a long way towards educating parents and their doctors and might even reverse this illogical and scientific attitude. Would Mother Nature actually have made the mistake of making mother’s milk a carcinogenic (decay-causing) food? Or course not.

Kathy’s book answers questions parents ask me every day. Now I have better answers for these questions and I'll remember to give The Complete Teething Guide and Kathy the credit for my newfound expertise. I loved reading both the conventional discussions and the unusual theoretical parts of this book. I think you’ll like it, too.

”It’s just teething!”

Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP, IBCLC
Santa Monica, California

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							Foreword
							“It's just teething.” I said these words many times to new parents during my early years as a pediatrician when they were calling me or visiting my office to tell me that their babies were very uncomfortable, cranky, sleeping or eating less, biting, or ... all of these! I will never use that phrase again lightly because it diminishes the importance and impact of teething, which is one of the most important phases in the first years of life. The phrase ‘just teething’ simply underestimates crucial anatomical and physiological changes that begin in infancy and continue into the teenage and young adult years. As I read The Complete Teething Guide, I found myself learning much more in a few short hours than I had gleaned from several years of pediatric training and practice. This book gave me a valuable refresher course on the nutritional aspects of teething and tooth formation and a solid chronology of the way baby teeth come in, and how they are replaced, renewed and replenished. Perhaps the most important information centers on how to deal with the “middle-of-the-night” issues, showing parents how they can help babies and children with teething pain, teething mood swings and even illness. I agree with Kathy that the stress of teething can and does affect the way the immune system fights off childhood illnesses. Both standard and alternative remedies are evaluated and discussed. The Complete Teething Guide provides good reading and good information for doctors and patients alike. (I hope your doctor reads this book, but I’m not optimistic: Summarize the key points and tell him or her about them!) Other important issues addressed include fluoride and orthodontics. I don’t think babies and children should receive fluoride supplements and my ambivalence about dental sealants was confirmed by research shared within these pages. Also, in my practice, I get daily questions about orthodontia and Kathy answers these questions better than I ever could. This very readable book has a wealth of practical advice, whether it's choosing a dentist or a toothbrush and toothpaste and makes sure that these common questions are addressed thoroughly and intelligently. The section on hazards and emergency matters is very well done and, again, helped me remember the key points I’d learned in my training. Equally important to me, though, is an emphasis of breastfeeding’s beneficial effect on dental health and cavity prevention. There are still doctors and dentists who don’t know that breast milk nourishes teeth and, instead, tell mothers they must stop nursing at night or their babies will get more cavities. This book may go a long way towards educating parents and their doctors and might even reverse this illogical and scientific attitude. Would Mother Nature actually have made the mistake of making mother’s milk a carcinogenic (decay-causing) food? Or course not. Kathy’s book answers questions parents ask me every day. Now I have better answers for these questions and I'll remember to give The Complete Teething Guide and Kathy the credit for my newfound expertise. I loved reading both the conventional discussions and the unusual theoretical parts of this book. I think you’ll like it, too. ”It’s just teething!” Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP, IBCLC Santa Monica, California