Baby's gums bleeding when teething: Is this normal?

ON Dec 9, 2011 at 12:00PM

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My 12-month-old daughter seems to be getting one of her bottom right molars and I noticed that she drooled a little blood. She didn't bleed when her front teeth erupted. Is this normal?

Question:

I don't think the situation you describe is abnormal. There can be many symptoms associated with erupting primary teeth. These may include irritability, excessive drooling, swollen gum tissue and sometimes a slight fever.

Some pedodontists (childrens' dentists) theorize that the posterior primary teeth can be more symptomatic during eruption due to their broad surface morphology. This may be the reason you did not note bleeding when the relatively narrow anterior teeth erupted.

As new teeth are erupting, bumps on the gum can appear blue or reddish-purple due to blood trapped under the tissue. Occasionally, some of that blood can leak out. Keep an eye on your teething baby to be sure the bleeding does not increase.

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