The safest and most effective teething relief for babies comes from simple physical remedies: chilled teething rings, cold washcloths, and gentle gum massage with a clean finger. Most babies start teething around 6 months of age, and while the fussiness can be stressful for parents, the best options are low-tech and drug-free.
What Actually Works for Teething Pain
A firm rubber teething ring, cooled in the refrigerator (not the freezer), gives your baby something safe to chew on while the cold numbs sore gums. A clean, damp washcloth that’s been chilled for 15 to 20 minutes works just as well. The combination of pressure from chewing and cold temperature is what provides relief.
Gum massage is another reliable option. Wash your hands, then use a clean finger to gently rub your baby’s gums where you can feel or see a tooth pushing through. The counter-pressure soothes the inflammation. You can also wrap a wet gauze pad around your finger for a slightly textured surface.
If your baby has started solids, chilled foods can help. A cold spoon, refrigerated fruit in a mesh feeder, or even a chilled (peeled) carrot for older babies who are supervised closely can offer comfort. The key is keeping things cold, not frozen, since frozen items can hurt sensitive gums or pose a frostbite risk to delicate tissue.
When to Consider Pain Medication
For nights when nothing else is working and your baby is clearly miserable, infant acetaminophen is an option for babies older than 8 weeks. It can be given every 4 to 6 hours as needed, up to 5 times in a 24-hour period. Always dose by your baby’s weight using the chart on the package or one provided by your pediatrician, not by age alone.
Ibuprofen is another option, but only for babies 6 months and older. It can be given every 6 to 8 hours, up to 4 times in 24 hours. Because teething typically starts right around 6 months, many babies won’t yet be old enough for ibuprofen when those first teeth arrive. Stick with acetaminophen for younger infants.
Pain medication should be a backup, not a first-line approach. If you find yourself reaching for it regularly over several days, it’s worth checking with your pediatrician to make sure teething is actually what’s going on.
Products to Avoid
Several popular teething products carry serious risks that outweigh any possible benefit. The FDA has issued direct warnings against all of the following.
Numbing gels and creams. Over-the-counter teething gels containing benzocaine (found in products like Orajel) should not be used on infants. Benzocaine can cause a rare but potentially fatal condition called methemoglobinemia, where red blood cells lose their ability to carry oxygen effectively. Prescription lidocaine solutions are equally dangerous for babies, with risks including seizures, heart problems, and severe brain injury. Beyond the safety concerns, topical numbing agents offer little to no actual benefit for teething pain because saliva washes them away within minutes.
Homeopathic teething tablets and gels. The FDA has warned consumers not to use homeopathic teething tablets, specifically those containing belladonna. Testing of products sold by major brands revealed that levels of toxic compounds (atropine and scopolamine, both derived from belladonna) varied wildly from tablet to tablet and far exceeded the amounts listed on the label. Multiple recalls followed between 2016 and 2017, but similar products continue to appear on shelves. The safest move is to skip homeopathic teething products entirely.
Amber teething necklaces and beads. These are marketed with the claim that body heat releases a pain-relieving substance from the amber. There’s no credible evidence this works. What is well-documented is the danger: the FDA issued a warning after receiving reports of children choking on broken beads and an 18-month-old who was strangled to death by an amber necklace during a nap. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants not wear any jewelry at all. Suffocation is the leading cause of death for children under one year old.
How to Tell It’s Teething and Not Something Else
Teething causes drooling, fussiness, swollen gums, and an urge to chew on everything. It may raise your baby’s body temperature slightly, into the 98 to 100.3°F range, but that’s below the threshold for a true fever. If your baby’s temperature hits 100.4°F or higher, something else is going on. Teething also doesn’t cause diarrhea, rashes on the body, or prolonged crying that can’t be soothed, despite how commonly those symptoms get blamed on incoming teeth.
The timing can make it tricky. Babies start teething around 6 months, which is the same age when maternal antibodies begin to wane and minor infections become more common. It’s easy to attribute a low-grade illness to teething when the real culprit is a virus. If symptoms seem more intense than garden-variety fussiness, or if they last more than a few days, it’s reasonable to look beyond the gums for an explanation.
What the Teething Timeline Looks Like
Most babies get their first tooth around 6 months, though the range is wide. Some babies sprout a tooth at 4 months, others not until after their first birthday. The lower front teeth (central incisors) typically come in first, followed by the upper front teeth. From there, teeth generally fill in from front to back, with the second molars arriving last, usually between ages 2 and 3. By the time the full set of 20 baby teeth is in, the worst of teething is behind you.
Not every tooth causes equal discomfort. The first few teeth and the molars tend to be the most painful, while others may slip through the gums with barely a whimper. You may go through stretches where teething feels like a constant battle, then weeks where it’s a non-issue. Keeping a chilled teething ring in the refrigerator at all times during those active months saves you from scrambling at 2 a.m.