Comparison of the opinions and attitudes of medical doctors, dentists and mothers toward teething symptoms

Abstract

Background: The signs and symptoms associated with teething can be local or systemic. It remains unclear whether the disturbances are caused by the eruption of primary teeth or whether they simply coincide with tooth eruption. Parents and healthcare professionals can have different perceptions about teething symptoms, especially in different cultural or socio-economic contexts.

Objectives: The study aimed to compare the opinions and attitudes of medical doctors, dentists and mothers toward the symptoms of teething.

Material and methods: Data about the signs and symptoms was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire was mailed in December 2019 to 800 randomly selected medical doctors and dentists working in the Central Aegean Region of Turkey. Mothers of children aged 0-3 years who were referred to the pediatric department were selected for the study. Data from 199 medical doctors (109 family physicians, 90 pediatricians), 293 dentists (169 general dentists, 124 pediatric dentists) and 352 mothers who completed the questionnaire was included in the study. The data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows program.

Results: Each participant identified at least one symptom related to teething. Statistically significant differences were found between the 3 groups in terms of symptoms except for stomach ache (p < 0.05). Gingival irritation was the most common symptom among dentists (95.6%) and mothers (70.7%), while irritability was the most common symptom among medical doctors (90.5%). Mothers believed to a greater extent than the other groups that fever, vomiting and cough were associated with teething (p < 0.05), whereas medical doctors tended to point to drooling, irritability, biting/chewing, diarrhea, and ear rubbing more often than the other groups (p < 0.05). In addition, sleep disturbance and loss of appetite were associated with teething less frequently by mothers as compared to the other groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: In the present study, medical doctors, dentists and mothers reported unproven and controversial associations between teething and certain local or systemic symptoms. Mothers especially were more likely to believe that systemic symptoms that can be confused with other serious diseases were associated with teething.