Historical cause of death 1600s-1800s
What did teething mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, teething meant an infant death blamed on cutting teeth, a cause doctors of the day genuinely believed in. In modern terms it usually pointed to no real cause; usually infection or diarrhea concurrent with teething. Thousands of registered deaths say teeth. The age band, six months to two years, is the tell; the real killers rode alongside the teeth. Expect it on records mostly 1600s-1800s.
Also written on records as: dentition, died of teeth, teeth.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is teething called today?+
No real cause; usually infection or diarrhea concurrent with teething, broadly speaking. Doctors of the period diagnosed without laboratory tests, so one label often covered several conditions we would now separate. This page explains historical record language and is not medical advice.
How was teething written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote dentition, died of teeth, and teeth. Spelling wandered from register to register, so check every variant before you decide a record is missing or wrong.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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