[bizerl (OP)]

I know this has been asked previously in this forum but I couldn't find a definitive answer (if one exists).

I find a lot of people of a certain generation will be quick to put down any sort of fever, redness, excess crying etc. down to something called "teething" which is apparently when the babies teeth are coming through. This seems to happen for an indeterminate amount of time, depending on when it is convenient to disregard these symptoms. Indeed, one need never take a baby to a doctor, as "teething" could last up until they are a toddler.

My personal view is that teeth take a long time to come through and in that time, a baby is likely to get sick, and this is purely coincidence. But...

Have there been any reliable studies linking physical symptoms to the emergence of teeth?

[Bored chemist]

You may wish to discuss this with someone whose wisdom teeth are coming through.

[bizerl (OP)]

You may wish to discuss this with someone whose wisdom teeth are coming through.

I thought about this. I myself had trouble when my wisdom teeth came through and had to have 3 of them removed. They caused discomfort when pushing the backs of my gums, but they didn't cause any fever or redness.

I also thought about what happens when baby teeth fall out and adult teeth come through but I guess the way has already been carved by then and the process is made a little easier.

I guess I was just asking (somewhat caustically now that I re-read my original post - apologies for any offence) what the current medical advice is on what teething is and whether it has been scientifically linked to the symptoms that it often gets blamed for.

[evan_au]

Wikipedia quotes a few studies suggesting that teething causes irritation, but not fever.

They suggest that an infection could be responsible for the fever, and propose a Herpes Virus which is endemic in young children.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teething#Misdiagnosis_as_teething