Real but over-blamed. Teething does not cause high fever or diarrhoea, and some teething products are genuinely unsafe.
Assessed and treated by a GMC-registered GP
Prescriptions, sick notes and referral letters included
A written treatment plan after every appointment
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Most babies get their first tooth at around six months, though anywhere between three and twelve months is normal, and a few are born with one. The full set of twenty milk teeth is usually through by about two and a half.
Teething is real. It causes dribbling, chewing, sore gums, some grizzliness and a few disturbed nights.
It is also blamed for a great deal that it does not cause, and that is the part worth reading. Teething does not cause a high fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, a rash away from the chin, or an unwell baby. When those things are put down to teething, the actual illness gets found late — which is the only real danger in an otherwise ordinary developmental milestone.
There is also a genuine safety issue with some teething products, including one that has caused deaths. That is covered below.
What teething does cause:
This list matters more than the one above:
If any of those are present, something else is going on. Look for the other cause rather than waiting for a tooth.
Late teething is almost never a problem. A baby with no teeth at twelve months is usually just taking their time; if there are none by around eighteen months it is worth mentioning, but even then it is usually normal variation.
Teething is diagnosed on the picture: a baby of the right age, with swollen gums, dribbling and chewing, who is otherwise well.
The clinical work is not confirming teething — it is confirming that nothing else is going on. Ear infections, urine infections, viral illnesses and, rarely, more serious infections all present as an unsettled baby, and all are easy to attribute to a tooth.
"It's just teething" is one of the more common reasons an unwell baby is brought late. The safe approach is to treat teething as a diagnosis of exclusion in any baby with a fever — comfortable to make, but only after looking properly.
Teething does not need a doctor. It is a developmental stage, not an illness, and there is no treatment beyond comfort.
We would rather say that than take a fee for it.
Look for another explanation before accepting teething as the cause of a fever. That is the single most useful thing a clinician does with this presentation.
Seek urgent assessment if your baby:
None of these is teething. Do not wait for a tooth to appear.
Book a routine consultation if: you are unsure whether symptoms are teething or something else, or there are no teeth at all by about eighteen months.
Start brushing as soon as the first tooth appears, twice daily with a smear of fluoride toothpaste. NHS dental care is free for children, and the first dental visit should be around the first birthday.
Teething alone does not warrant paying anyone. If your baby is uncomfortable but well, a health visitor or pharmacist is the right and free answer.
This page follows NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries on teething, NICE NG143 on fever in under 5s, and MHRA safety advice on teething products.
Brushing should begin with the first tooth, twice daily with fluoride toothpaste, and the first dental check is recommended around the first birthday. NHS dental treatment is free for children.
Reviewed against NICE CKS, NG143 and MHRA guidance current at the date shown above.
It may cause a slightly raised temperature, but not a fever of 38°C or above.
A genuine fever means something else, and that is worth finding rather than waiting out.
No. This is one of the most persistent myths.
Loose stools in a teething baby are a separate problem — usually a viral infection — and should be treated as such.
No, and this is the clearest safety point here. There is no evidence they work, and there is a real risk of strangulation and choking. Deaths have occurred.
They are not recommended, whatever the packaging claims.
Check the label and avoid anything containing choline salicylate, which is aspirin-like and not recommended under 16.
Evidence for teething gels generally is limited — a chilled teething ring does more.
Yes, if your baby is genuinely distressed, at the correct dose for age. Infant ibuprofen is also appropriate.
Do not give either routinely for weeks on end — if you find yourself doing that, get the baby checked.
Chill it in the fridge, not the freezer. Frozen solid, it becomes hard enough to bruise or damage the gums.
Almost certainly not. The normal range is wide and late teething often runs in families.
Worth mentioning if there are none by around eighteen months, though even then it is usually just variation.
Yes — from the very first tooth. Twice a day, with a smear of fluoride toothpaste.
Decay in milk teeth is common and entirely preventable, and NHS dental care is free for children.
A teething baby is uncomfortable. An unwell baby is unwell.
Dribbling, chewing and grizzling with normal feeding is teething. Fever, floppiness, vomiting, poor feeding or fewer wet nappies is not — get them seen.
August 30, 2026
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews
