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 4-12months and 13-24 months age was statistically significant when compared with 25-36months age (P