Parents' 'imaginations have got the better of them' when it comes to babies teething

A dental expert is warning that "people's imaginations have got the better of them" when it comes to babies' teething problems.

Parents often report their children suffer pain, red cheeks, nappy rash and fevers as their first teeth come through.

However Consultant Paediatric Dental Surgeon at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, Kirsten Fitzgerald, says it is a "simple and benign" process.

She believes an increase in health problems for small children around that time could be linked to an "increased exposure to outside infection".

She has also warned that parents could miss more serious conditions by putting some symptoms down to teething.