Baby drool at 3 months: Drooling and Your Baby – HealthyChildren.org

What’s the deal with baby drool?

Hint: It’s not caused by teething.

Drooling is not a sign of teething. It signals that your baby’s salivary glands started working. Teething starts after 4 months (typically around 6 months) but a baby’s mouth fountain begins around 3 months. Some kids drool a little, and some a lot. And the only thing to worry about is the chin rash that will appear if your baby is an enthusiastic drooler.

Babies don’t actually make much saliva until they are 3 months old. Their purely liquid diet is easy to swallow and mother’s milk doesn’t have starch in it, so babies don’t even need some of the digestive properties of saliva. Drool develops just when the baby needs it.

What does saliva do?

Drool has a critical job to coat toys, and other objects that babies put in their mouth, with disease-preventing particles. This miraculous mixture contains hundreds of proteins that wash away bacteria and food particles that cause tooth decay. It has enzymes that break down carbohydrates and even has a growth factor that helps the intestines mature. Saliva moistens food and protects the lining of the esophagus from irritation and even has a mechanism to remove salt that makes saliva less salty than other body fluids so that we can taste the salt in our food.

Saliva is made by three sets of major glands and many minor ones throughout the mouth. Two major sets of salivary glands (submandibular and sublingual) located under the tongue function well at birth and make a viscous, thick fluid. The third major set of parotid glands located below the ears between the upper and lower jaw start functioning at 3 months of age. They make a very watery fluid.  So that’s when saliva becomes more watery (and more plentiful!)

Babies’ drooling peaks when they master advanced baby skills like bringing their hands to their mouth and chewing. These specific motions stimulate sensors in the mouth (mechanoreceptors) that signal the salivary glands. There is a normal resting salivary flow that keeps your mouth and esophagus moist, but things like taste, smell, pressure on the tongue, and chewing cause a ten-fold increase in salivation.

Why are babies’ hands in their mouth all the time?

When you want to check out something new you use your very sensitive fingertips and hands. But babies are most sensitive in their lips and tongue. So like a dog has a terrific sense of smell so they sniff stuff to inspect it, a baby explores the world with their mouth.

Babies have not figured out how to swallow saliva well and they don’t have a row of teeth to hold it in the mouth, plus they are socially inept and don’t care what their friends think they look like when they drool. So they have fun with their new plaything called spit and they will find ways to amuse themselves with it by blowing bubbles and making “raspberries.”

If your baby has a chin rash, gently wash and dry the area and keep the skin covered with Aquaphor, lanolin or any thick moisturizing cream or ointment to provide a barrier to drool. And have lots of clean bibs handy.

Your baby may look a mess, but that drool pouring out of his mouth is actually a sign of normal neurologic development!

Teething truths: Signs, symptoms and when baby may be sick

Teething can be a challenging time for parents and baby, and the true signs and symptoms are sometimes misunderstood.

Dr. Aaron Van Ningen, a pediatrician at the Sanford Children’s North Clinic in Bismarck, North Dakota discusses what’s going on in your baby’s mouth.

Understanding teething

Teething is a normal developmental stage and involves the process of teeth growing and then breaking through the gums. Teeth begin to develop while a baby is in the womb, with tooth buds forming in the gums. Once developed, they break through the gums, which can take months.

When do babies start teething?

Usually the first teeth begin to break through between the ages of 5 to 7 months. However, some babies experience it earlier or later. In fact, though rare, a baby can be born with one to two teeth, and some babies do not get their first tooth until after age 1. Most often the bottom middle teeth break through first, followed by the four upper middle teeth. By 30 months old — or 2-1/2 years  — all 20 baby teeth are usually present.

How to tell if a baby is teething

The most common signs of teething include fussiness, gnawing or chewing on fingers or fists continuously, sensitive and swollen gums, and increased drooling. The drooling may start months before teeth break through the gums — at 3 or 4 months of age — and is not always related to teething.

Until recently, experts attributed teething to all ailments during the timeframe. But now, it is understood that a baby should see a pediatrician if a fever occurs or symptoms are more severe than fussiness, irritability, drooling and gnawing.

Do babies get fevers and runny noses when teething?

Teething does not cause fever, rashes, diarrhea or colds, but it can make a baby uncomfortable. Crying should not increase due to teething, nor does teething increase susceptibility to getting sick.

If your baby is teething and becomes sick or appears more fussy than usual, symptoms should be evaluated independent of teething. Blaming teething can lead to a delay in necessary medical attention for an infection, such as an ear infection or urinary tract infection. A baby’s pediatrician should be contacted for advice if concerns arise.

At this age, babies have other variables affecting their risk of infection. The loss of antibodies transferred to baby from a mother at the time of birth occurs at around 6 to 12 months of age, and the developmental milestone of chewing on everything also begins. Both increase a baby’s risk of infection.

Ways to ease discomfort

To soothe discomfort, provide hard rubber toys, teething rings or cold teething toys to chew on. Teething toys and rings should not be frozen as these can hurt or damage baby’s gums. Due to teething gels quickly washing off from excessive drooling, they are not considered helpful.

Try to rub baby’s gums with a clean finger to ease discomfort. Applying something cold on the gums is more effective at soothing and numbing the gums. Do not give your baby any medication without first contacting their pediatrician.

Learn more

• Healthy baby teeth lead to healthy permanent teeth
• Biting: Why it happens and what to do about it
• Why your baby may be crying, and tips for soothing

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Bismarck, Children’s, Health Information, Parenting

Why does a child drool at 3 months?

Quite often, babies aged 2-3 months have increased salivation, because of which the mother has to change clothes several times a day. At first, this problem does not cause much concern, but in the future, the chin may become inflamed in the baby, which will cause him pain and irritation. The child begins to act up, worry, may not sleep well.

All this makes parents turn to a pediatrician with a question why a child drools heavily at 3 months. In this article, we will look at the main causes that cause profuse salivation in babies of this age.

Why does a 3 month old baby drool?

There can be several reasons for increased salivation in babies. Let’s consider the main ones:

1. The main reason why a three-month-old baby may experience abundant saliva is preparation for teething. It would seem that the first teeth in babies usually appear around 6 months, and there is still too much time before that. The baby’s gums are not swollen, and in general there are no signs of dentition in the mouth. However, teething can disturb a child from 2 months of age. At the same time, the baby will experience a lot of unpleasant sensations associated with their movement in the gums, and you will not notice anything for a long time, except for abundant saliva on his face.
2. In some babies, especially premature babies, the salivary glands are not yet fully developed. In this case, they may produce more saliva than the child can swallow.
3. One of the most unpleasant causes of excessive salivation is stomatitis. Saliva is a kind of natural barrier against microbes, therefore, in the presence of a disease of the oral cavity, it is produced more than usual.
4. Finally, in rare cases, increased secretion of the salivary glands indicates the presence of serious diseases of the brain or nervous system, such as cerebral palsy or encephalitis. Of course, in this case, abundant saliva will not be the only sign of the disease, and an experienced doctor will be able to immediately determine that something is wrong with the child.

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Plaque on the child’s tongue – should I be worried?

14. 02.2017

What kind of coating on the child’s tongue is the norm?

Plaque on a child’s tongue is a common thing , but only if it is light in color, transparent (the condition and color of the tongue can be clearly seen through it), easily removed at the time of eating or brushing the child’s teeth and his oral cavity, odorless . Most often, this phenomenon can be observed after a night’s sleep. The reason for its occurrence is the deposition of organic elements of saliva on the surface of the tongue.

Which coating on the tongue indicates health problems?

If there is a thickening of plaque, a change in its color and the appearance of bad breath – this is already the result of the vital activity of bacteria and fungi. Of course, the body is not a sterile substance and microorganisms are always present in it, but the immunity of a healthy child controls their numbers. With a decrease in immunity, the occurrence of any diseases, a significant growth of pathogenic bacteria and fungi is observed, which is accompanied by the formation of plaque in the children’s language.

Causes of plaque on the tongue

There are a lot of reasons due to which various plaques on the tongue can appear: from the banal use of foods that can change the color of the tongue, to serious health problems that require immediate medical attention help.

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The very first thing to do when you find incomprehensible raids on the tongue of a child is to remember what the baby has eaten in the last 24 hours. Very often, sweet carbonated drinks, caramels or other sweets contain active dyes that can give the oral mucosa the most exotic shades: crimson, purple, green, orange and others. Even natural berries and fruits can drastically change the color of the tongue. Therefore, there is no need to immediately panic. You should ask the child to brush their teeth and tongue, and then evaluate their condition and color. If the plaque has not changed or reappeared without regard to food intake, then this is an occasion to urgently visit your pediatrician.

White coating on the tongue

White coating can be found in the mouth of an infant most often .

This phenomenon also happens normally, when after a night’s sleep a thin white coating without an unpleasant odor is found on the tongue, which disappears after hygiene procedures and does not cause any discomfort or unpleasant sensations.

The appearance of a dense whitish coating, which is extremely difficult to remove from the surface of the tongue and does not disappear after brushing your teeth, may indicate problems in the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, enteritis or dysbacteriosis). This phenomenon is often accompanied by bad breath. In addition, children may present complaints that may indicate pathology of the gastrointestinal tract:

• abdominal pain of various localization;
• bloating;
• stool disorders;
• change in appetite

In order to get rid of such a white coating, it is necessary, first of all, to examine the digestive system and eliminate even the most minor disturbances in its work.

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In infants up to 2 months of life, a frequent occurrence, especially after taking antibiotics or errors in the diet of a nursing mother, is thrush or oral candidiasis. With this pathology, abundant white curdled plaques appear on the tongue and cheeks, which are easily removed, and small ulcers are found under them. After the start of treatment of thrush with antifungal agents and treatment of the oral cavity with antiseptic solutions, the tongue and other mucous membranes are quickly cleaned and acquire their former appearance.

Gray coating on the tongue

Gray coating on the tongue may be a sign of some infectious diseases.

For example, with scarlet fever, on the first day, the mucous membranes are covered with a dirty gray coating, which, starting from the tip of the tongue, gradually disappears and exposes the “raspberry tongue” – enlarged papillae against a bright red background, which is very reminiscent of raspberries .

In diphtheria, on the root of the tongue, gray filmy deposits can be found, which are difficult to separate. Such raids spread to the mucous membranes of the throat, palatine arches and are accompanied by coughing and asthma attacks.

Treatment of such infectious diseases is carried out only in a hospital setting. After curing, all raids on the tongue disappear.

Dehydration of the child’s body can also lead to the formation of a gray coating on the surface of the tongue. In this case, the mucous membranes look dry and dull. Replenishment of the required volume of fluid quickly eliminates such a symptom.

Yellow coating on the tongue

Thick yellow coating on the tongue indicates pathology of the liver or biliary tract.

Often in children, diseases of the biliary system occur without a bright clinical picture, and the presence of bile stasis can only be suspected by a change in the color of deposits on the mucous membranes of the oral cavity.

If a child has a plaque on the tongue of a yellow tint , it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor and conduct an examination of the internal organs and the biochemical composition of the blood.

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Orange coating on tongue

Orange coloration of the tongue is a marker that acidic contents from the stomach enter the oral cavity.

This happens with exacerbation of gastritis with high acidity, with reflux disease, with pathology of the esophagus and the initial stages of ulcer development. In this case, the child may additionally complain of an unpleasant sour taste in the mouth, belching, and occasional heartburn. Treatment will be to eliminate the underlying cause.

Green coating on the tongue

The appearance of a green coating on the mucous membrane of the tongue is often very scary for parents, especially if it is found in a newborn or infant.

The most common cause of this phenomenon is candidiasis, a fungal infection of the oral cavity that occurs due to imperfection of the immune defense in the body of a baby of 1 year of age or against the background of taking strong antibacterial drugs.

This plaque has a different color intensity and can spread to other parts of the oral cavity, being found on the cheeks, palate and lips. After removing it, you can see the red surface of the tongue with small blisters or sores that cause discomfort to the child.

It is necessary to start treating green plaque only after consulting a doctor. Therapeutic measures will consist of taking special antifungal drugs and local antiseptics to treat thrush and prevent bacterial complications.

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Brown coating on the tongue

Brown tongue in a child is not such a rare occurrence. There can be many reasons for this:

• Severe diseases of the digestive system accompanied by inflammatory changes, stagnation of bile in the bile ducts, and disturbance of digestion.
• Permanent dehydration of the child’s body due to high ambient temperature or insufficient fluid intake.
• Insufficient intake of vitamins group B.
• Taking certain medications : antibiotics, antiseptic solutions, concentrated herbal decoctions.

It is very difficult to establish the exact root cause of the appearance of such a dark coating. This can only be done by an experienced doctor who, after additional examinations, will be able to prescribe the optimal treatment.

Black coating on the tongue

The presence of a black coating on the tongue in a child looks quite scary, and there can be several reasons for this phenomenon: In this case, the child will have signs of inflammation in the tonsils: red throat, high fever, pain when swallowing, weakness.