Teething as a disease entity has been diminished from its 19th century status as the major cause of infant mortality to its modest position today as a "waste basket" diagnosis. If past proves to be prologue, it will diminish further as more credible causes for undifferentiated fevers and other complaints are found. The 21st century may find teething consigned to the shelf along with miasma, humoral theory, mesmerism, and other archival curiosities.