Dr. Mersch received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego, and prior to entering the University Of Southern California School Of Medicine, was a graduate student (attaining PhD candidate status) in Experimental Pathology at USC. He attended internship and residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Teething is the process by which a baby's teeth erupt, or break through,
the gums. Teething generally occurs between 6 to 24 months of age.
Symptoms of teething include irritability, tender and swollen gums, and the
infant wanting to place objects or fingers into the mouth in an attempt to
reduce discomfort. Fever,
cough, diarrhea, and
cold symptoms are not found
when a child is teething.
Oral over-the-counter pain relievers (acetaminophen [Tylenol] or ibuprofen [Advil, Children's Advil/Motrin, Medipren, Motrin, Nuprin, PediaCare Fever]) generally provide relief of symptoms.
Topical medications containing benzocaine may cause serious and potentially lethal side effects and should not be used to treat teething symptoms.
What is teething?
Teething is the process by which an infant's teeth erupt, or break through,
the gums. Teething is also referred to as "cutting" of the teeth. Teething is
medically termed odontiasis.
When do babies start teething?
The onset of teething symptoms typically precedes the eruption of a tooth by
several days. While a baby's first tooth can present between 4 and 10 months
of age, the first tooth usually erupts at approximately 6 months of age. Some
dentists have noted a family pattern of "early," "average," or "late" teethers.
A relatively rare condition, "natal" teeth, describes the presence of a tooth
on the day of birth. The incidence of such an event is one per 2,000-3,000 live
births. Usually, this single and often somewhat malformed tooth is a unique event
in an otherwise normal child. Rarely, the presence of a natal tooth is just one
of several unusual physical findings which make up a syndrome. If the
possibility of a syndrome exists, consultation with a pediatric dentist and/or
geneticist can be helpful. The natal tooth is often loose and is commonly
removed prior to the newborn's hospital discharge to lessen the risk of
aspiration into the lungs.
The word "rash" means an outbreak of red bumps on the body. The way people use this term, "a rash" can refer to many different skin conditions. The most common of these are scaly patches of skin and red, itchy bumps or patches all over the place.
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
A number of vital tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good health and enable people to function at their best. Sleep needs vary from individual to individual and change throughout your life. Not getting enough sleep can hurt memory performance, health, and your mood.
Learn more about what cavities like, their symptoms, treatment and prevention. See how tooth decay, plaque and bacteria contribute to the creation of cavities and how regular brushing and flossing can help.
Oral health problems in children include thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking, tooth decay, and early tooth loss. Get tips on how to prevent these problems in your child.
Children's health is focused on the well-being of children from conception through adolescence. There are many aspects of children's health, including growth and development, illnesses, injuries, behavior, mental illness, family health and community health.
Baby bottle tooth decay (also called early childhood caries, nursing caries,
and nursing bottle syndrome) occurs when a baby's teeth are in frequent contact
with sugars from liquid carbohydrates, such as fruit juices, milk, formula,
fruit juice diluted with water, sugar water or any other sweet drink. Human
breast milk can cause tooth decay as well. As these liquids break down in the
mouth into simple sugars and are allowed to sit in the mouth, bacteria start
feeding on the sugars, causing tooth
decay.
If left untreated, decayed teeth can cause pain and make it difficult to
chew and eat. Also, baby teeth serve as "space savers" for adult teeth.
If baby teeth are damaged or destroyed, they can't help guide permanent teeth
into their proper position, possibly resulting in crowded or crooked permanent
teeth. Badly decayed baby teeth could lead to an abscessed tooth, with the
possibility of infection spreading elsewhere...