Daily AncestorDentition
Dentition, or teething, as a cause of death meant a baby died around the time teeth were coming in; the true cause was usually an infection.
Dentition is the process of cutting teeth. Nineteenth-century doctors and parents widely believed teething could kill, so they recorded it as a cause of death for babies and toddlers.
We now know teething does not kill. The child most likely died of diarrhea, fever or another infection that happened to strike while the teeth were coming in. Teething was recorded for a notable share of infant deaths in London in 1842.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Lizzie Cole, 14 mos., F, W, N.Y., July, Teething, 6 days
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Dentition." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/dentition. Last checked 2026-10-01.