Baby has fever, gums are swollen, foul smelling. Is he teething? Is it gingivitis?
Patient: hi my 19 month old boy started with a fever a week ago which subsided after 2 days then i noticed a foul smell coming from his mouth and i thought he may be teething ,i looked into his mouth and his gums all appeared swollen there were no signs of thrush , i started to brush his teeth and he started to bleed on contact with the brush, this has been going on for three days . i started antibiotics today thinking this may be gingivitis bc of the foul smell swollen gums and bleeding with brushing , on two occasions he has cried and his gums started to bleed during the crying episode .. is this gingivitis ? i have been using chlorhexidine spray and the swelling has settled a little along with the antibiotics, but because of the bleeding i just wanted to make sure i wasnt missing anything Doctor: Hello there,     Thanks for your query.  At the age of 19 months swollen gums are sign of eruption of deciduous/milk teeth,pain is because of pressure exerted by erupting teeth on the gums.  Therefore there is no point to get worried.  But during this period children more prone to infection,so maintain good oral and general hygiene.  Fever may be because of viral infection,so do not give any medicine yourself, consult with a child specialist at the earliest and take a proper treatment.  Hope this will be helpful. Take care. Dr.Gunjan Gupta