Just when infants seem to get a bit easier to handle, teething starts. Your baby troubles begin again with new symptoms and problems to deal with. Your multiples will start being cranky, drooling, and chewing on everything they can get their little mouths on.

A baby will generally get his or her teeth between the ages of four months and nine months, though some get their teeth a bit earlier and some take a little longer. If you are worried that your twins might be taking too long to get their teeth, remember that you need to calculate their ages based on their due date, not the actual date they are born when you are considering milestones.

Twins many times get their teeth around the same ages, leaving parents to deal with two cranky little ones at the same time. They might not be on the same schedule, however, since they are individuals. The process of those cute little teeth pushing through the gums takes a while, so parents need to learn the best ways to deal with it.

Sometimes it is hard to tell just when a baby is teething. However, there are some signs that are commonly seen around this time. If your baby is exhibiting one or more of these, he or she might just be teething. Some parents are lucky and have twins that just have teeth pop out without any noticeable symptoms appearing beforehand, others get stuck dealing with a multitude of symptoms.

One of the most common signs of teething is lots and lots of drool. Your twins will probably start drooling like crazy all over everything. You might want to have them wear absorbent bibs to catch the drool and keep their clothes dry. If the drool causes a rash on their chin you might want to cover it with Vaseline or another baby product in order to prevent this.

Another of the more noticeable signs of teething is the fact that your twins are most likely going to start chewing on absolutely everything. You can make this easier on yourself by providing them with appropriate things to chew on. There are teething toys you can throw in the freezer to make cold which sometimes provide extra comfort, or you can also try hard crackers, as long as they are unlikely to break into pieces that your little ones could choke on. Specially made teething crackers are good for this.

Many parents say that their twins get slight fevers when they are teething. Doctors say there is no reason why teething should cause a fever though, so it would be a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure there isn’t any other likely cause should your baby have a fever.

Since the process of a tooth breaking through the gums is painful, obviously your twins are likely to be irritable during teething. The pain might also be waking them up and disrupting their routine, making it even more difficult to comfort them and keep them happy. This can be really hard to deal with since there isn’t much you can do. Giving them something to chew on, and maybe a bit of baby pain reliever can help to give them some relief, and might make things easier for all of you.

You want to make sure that you take good care of your twins’ teeth, even before they start to show up. Problems with baby teeth can lead to problems with adult teeth. Right from the start you should wipe off your baby’s gums with a damp cloth or baby toothbrush after feeding them. As they get older and less likely to swallow the toothpaste you can move on to infant toothpaste and children’s toothpaste on toothbrushes.

One common source of problems with teeth in infants is when parents leave their twins to suck on a bottle in bed that is filled with milk or juice. This will pool in the mouth and help to cause cavities, so try to avoid doing this.

Current recommendations are for you to take your little ones to the dentist as soon as that first tooth shows up, or by the time they turn one year old. Usually this means going to a pediatric dentist as most family dentists or regular dentists will not see children that young.

Content guidance provided by Amy Hall, M.O.M (Mom of Multiples)