Is teething really what causes a baby's fever?

What the evidence says

Major pediatric guidance is clear on this: teething itself does not cause fever. HealthyChildren.org (from the American Academy of Pediatrics) states plainly that teething does not cause fever, diarrhea, diaper rash, or runny nose, and warns that blaming a fever on teething can delay diagnosis of real infections like ear infections, UTIs, or even meningitis.

A well-known prospective study following 125 infants found that no teething child had a fever of 104°F, and fever over 102°F was not significantly linked to tooth emergence. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on fever and tooth eruption also looked at this question directly, and a randomized trial of teething remedies found no significant correlation between fever as reported by mothers and actual temperature readings, concluding there was no real association between teething and fever.

So why do so many parents notice fever around teething time? Some studies do report a mild, brief uptick in body temperature right around the day a tooth breaks through, but this is small and short-lived, not a true fever. Researchers suggest coincidence plays a big role too: teething often happens exactly when babies start losing maternal antibodies and put everything in their mouths, which raises real infection risk around the same age.

Bottom line for parents: mild gum irritability, drooling, and chewing are normal teething signs. But a real fever (especially high or lasting more than a day) should be checked out as its own issue, not assumed to be 'just teething.'