Material and methods: - A cross sectional comparative study of exclusively breast fed children and those who were not. The study involved interviewer administered questionnaire to one thousand and eighty one mothers of children under three years of age on perception of nursing mothers to teething problems, what mothers do during teething periods; common oral infection in children during teething period and oral examination of children proportionately sampled in 14 wards of Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State.
Result: - Of the 1081 mothers and their babies interviewed, 16.5%, 38.7%, and 44.8% were of the age groups 6-12, 13-24, and 25-36 months respectively. The gender of the babies showed that 49.8% and 50.2% were male and female respectively. Of the babies examined, 62.45 were exclusively breast – fed while 37.6% were not. There was a significant association between maternal educational status and knowledge of teething complaints (p=0.000). ANUG was the only soft tissue infection seen in the children sampled. Of the 28 children with ANUG, 1.6% were exclusively breast fed and no significant association was found between ANUG and exclusive breast feeding practice (p=0.848).
Conclusion: - The result of this study has demonstrated that exclusive breast feeding is not only able to reduce the symptoms ascribed to teething, but also promote the development of a healthy oral tissue.