Teething Beliefs and Traditional Practices towards Infant Teething Symptoms among Caretakers in Abha City, Saudi Arabia

To investigate symptoms that are associated with teething as reported by caretakers and the related measures undertaken to relieve it. To study the relationship between caretaker, child-related factors and the reported teething-symptoms. To correlate reported teething symptoms with clinical findings during the teething period.

The current study was a cross-sectional survey conducted among Saudi caretakers of children aged 6-36 months of age, following the survey, each child was clinically examined as well. The following survey was carried out at Mahala Maternal and child health Hospital, Abha city. A convenience sampling method was adopted for collecting the data. A total of 300 caretakers along with their children were approached who agreed to be part of the study. All-the caretakers were asked to fill a structured-questionnaire, the questionnaire was asked to be completed using a-face-to-face interview along with children’s guardians and it was further followed by the clinical examination of the child.

The present study showed that most caretakers reported their children to suffer from both local oral disturbances (gum rubbing 41% followed by redness and swelling 20%) and systemic manifestations (increased biting, drooling, fever, diarrhoea, and loss of appetite) during their teething period.