We've always been told (by doctors, older relatives, etc) to start brushing their gums with that gentle scrubbie once you can see the outline of teeth below, and i like clean mouthes, so ive been doing it since then.

You should care for their gums before they have teeth, not wait until the first tooth.

Also, teething can cause a high fever. It normally doesn't, but your question is CAN it. Yes, in some cases, it can.

And lastly, I've always heard the teeth referred to as neonatal teeth so I got that one wrong. I've known a few born with teeth and no one ever used "natal teeth."

We were also told to start brushing before teeth come in.

I'm with you Greggie, I've never heard of 'natal teeth'!

I've never heard of natal teeth or the fact that they have to be removed before the child goes home. Why do they need to be removed? I have a 1 year old with NO teeth!!!!

I looked it up and there are alot of places that go into natal and neo natal..and theres alot of ulceration of the tongue and severe discoloration.

I don't think they always have to be removed, but some of the ones I know who had it had them removed because they were loose and caused a choking hazard.

i didnt know we were supposed to be brushing the gums before the teeth... JEEZ... i guess we'll be starting w/the brushing... wish the doc woulda mentioned that.

so what toothbrush do i start with?

Either a damp soft washcloth or a finger brush. You can get the finger brushes at Target, Walmart, Babies R Us, stuff like that.

I love love love the finger brush! It makes it so easy at first, since you can feel everything, and all the babies ive used them with tolerate it better then a tooth brush. We had to switch to the tooth brush months ago, becuase she has all of her front teeth, and I wanted to be able to brush them better.

I still use the finger brush on real teeth per the dentist's advice.