RESUMO
Background: Teething commences in children from the age of 6 to 8 months; however; it has been wrongly associated with systemic symptoms such as fever; diarrhea; vomiting by parents and health workers; this study hopes to determine the perception of doctors toward teething in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was cross-sectional descriptive study. Convince sampling technique was used to select 139 doctors who consented to participate in the study. Results: There were 116 males and 23 females with male to female ratio of 5:1. Fifty-nine (42.4%) of the subjects believed teething was associated with at least one symptom while 80 (57.6%) of them disagreed. Twenty-two (15.8%) of them got information on teething from their parents; 3 (2.2%) from their grand-parents; 61 (43.9%) was from school; 5 (3.6%) was from friends while 18 (12.9%); and 30 (21.6%) were from patients and their personal experiences; respectively. Seventy-nine (56.8%) did not believe in seeking for medical care for teething; while 60 (43.2%) believe in seeking for medical care for teething complaints. Ninety-six (69.1%) of the subjects will not prescribe any medication for teething; 18 (12.9%) prescribed paracetamol for teething; 10 (7.2%) prescribed antibiotics for teething; 8 (5.8%) prescribe teething powder; 3 (2.2%) prescribed teething ring; and 2 (1.4%) prescribe clean cloth usage and teething syrup; respectively. Thirty-eight (27.4%) believed teething remedies works; 99 (71.2%) of the subjects did not believed it works while 2 (1.4%) were not sure of its efficacy. Conclusion: Doctors still believe that teething is associated with systemic illnesses; therefore continuous medical education is of importance in ensuring the eradication of these myths
