Is a Teething Bib Helpful?

Drooling is one of the signs exhibited by a teething baby. Sometimes, they would drool excessively throughout the day. Some babies while they are lying down could choke from their saliva, and this would cause them to cough from time to time. That’s why cold symptoms are often associated with teething. Also swallowing of a large amount of saliva could be attributed to softened stools that alert parents as to the presence of diarrhea in their children. Because diarrhea is not really associated with teething, parents are urged to consult their pediatrician when continuous diarrhea is observed.

The excess saliva is produced by the gum as it begins to show the first sign of the tooth at the surface. When the drool is not wiped from the baby’s face, this would cause rashes to develop around the chin and the mouth area where the saliva remains in contact with. That is why it is advisable to wipe the saliva from the mouth of the baby from time to time using a teething bib or a clean cloth.

Wiping the baby’s mouth require gentleness, as a strong rubbing of the skin around the mouth area could cause abrasion and would be an entry of bacteria that could cause infection. The use of a wiping cloth or a teething bib must also be chosen with care.

Most parents use the bib to wipe their child’s drool away from their baby’s mouth. A bib is a ready-made absorbable cloth that can be tied to a baby’s neck. Though this was used in the past by most parents during the teething process of their babies, in today’s generation it is not advisable to use it anymore especially when the child is sleeping. As the cloth is tied to the neck of the baby, there is the possibility of the baby being strangled by it when nobody is looking.

So parents are urged to watch their babies closely whenever they choose to use a teething bib around their baby’s neck.