Teething is one of those parenting milestones that arrives with surprisingly little warning and an enormous amount of conflicting advice. One week your baby is content, and the next they're drooling through every outfit, chewing on anything within reach, and waking through the night with a fussiness that doesn't respond to feeding or rocking. If you've ever stood in the baby aisle at midnight reading ingredient labels and wondering which of these products is actually safe, you're in good company.
The landscape of teething remedies is genuinely cluttered with products that range from effective and harmless to actively dangerous. The FDA has issued specific warnings against several popular categories of teething products, including benzocaine-based numbing gels, homeopathic teething tablets containing belladonna, and amber teething necklaces. Understanding what the evidence says — and what the safety bodies recommend — is essential before reaching for any remedy, natural or otherwise.
This guide focuses on natural teething remedies that are actually safe for babies: what works, why it works, and how to use each approach correctly. No benzocaine, no belladonna, no amber necklaces. Just evidence-informed, parent-tested strategies that hold up under scrutiny.
Understanding What's Actually Happening During Teething
Before exploring remedies, it helps to understand what teething discomfort actually is and why it responds to certain interventions. Teething occurs as the tooth bud beneath the gum pushes upward through the gum tissue, a process that causes inflammation, pressure, and localized soreness. The gum tissue in the area becomes swollen and sensitive, and that sensitivity is what makes babies want to chew — counter-pressure against the gum provides temporary relief from the internal pressure of the emerging tooth.
Most babies begin teething somewhere between four and seven months, though the range extends to twelve months without being considered abnormal. The lower central incisors typically arrive first, followed by the upper central incisors, then the lateral incisors, and eventually the first molars — which tend to cause the most discomfort due to their larger surface area breaking through the gum. The process continues through toddlerhood until the full set of twenty primary teeth has arrived, usually by around age three.
Common teething symptoms include excessive drooling, chewing and mouthing behavior, gum swelling and redness, increased fussiness particularly in the evenings, and disrupted sleep. Low-grade cheek flushing on the side where a tooth is emerging is also common. What teething does not cause — despite persistent parenting folklore — is high fever, diarrhea, or ear infections. If your baby presents with a fever above 100.4°F alongside teething symptoms, that fever has a separate cause and warrants medical attention rather than teething remedies.
Why Some Popular Teething Products Aren't Safe
Understanding the risks associated with certain products makes the case for natural alternatives more concrete. The FDA has been specific and repeated in its warnings, and those warnings are worth knowing.
Benzocaine teething gels — sold under brand names like Orajel and Anbesol — are topical anesthetics that temporarily numb the gum tissue. The problem is that benzocaine can cause methemoglobinemia, a condition in which the blood's ability to carry oxygen is dramatically reduced. This is a rare but serious and potentially fatal condition, and infants are more susceptible to it than older children or adults. The FDA recommends that benzocaine products not be used in children under two years old.
Homeopathic teething tablets, particularly those containing belladonna, were the subject of an FDA recall in 2016 after reports of seizures, difficulty breathing, and deaths in infants. Belladonna is a toxic plant-derived substance, and laboratory testing of recalled products found inconsistent concentrations significantly higher than labeled amounts. The FDA has warned consumers to stop using these products and to seek medical attention if a child has used them and developed symptoms.
Amber teething necklaces have become popular in certain parenting communities based on the claim that amber releases succinic acid when warmed by body heat, which then absorbs into the skin and produces anti-inflammatory effects. There is no credible scientific evidence supporting this mechanism or its effectiveness. More importantly, any necklace worn by an infant carries serious strangulation and choking hazard risk. The AAP, the CPSC, and multiple pediatric safety organizations have advised against their use.
Natural Teething Remedies That Are Actually Safe for Babies
Cold Pressure: The Most Effective Natural Approach
Cold and counter-pressure work on teething discomfort through two separate mechanisms that happen to complement each other well. Cold reduces inflammation and temporarily numbs the gum tissue, while counter-pressure relieves the internal pressure of the tooth pushing upward. When you combine both in a single intervention, you address the most significant sources of teething discomfort simultaneously.
The most straightforward application of this principle is a chilled teething toy. Place a firm but flexible silicone teething toy in the refrigerator — not the freezer — for twenty to thirty minutes before offering it. A frozen teething toy can be too hard and too cold, potentially damaging sensitive gum tissue. Refrigerator temperature produces gentle, sustained cold that is appropriate for an infant's gums. Silicone is the preferred material because it is easy to clean thoroughly, doesn't harbor bacteria in the way that fabric toys can, and provides firm enough resistance to produce meaningful counter-pressure without being hard enough to cause harm.
Chilled wet washcloths are an even simpler version of the same approach. Wet a clean washcloth, wring it out, fold it into a manageable shape, and refrigerate it briefly. Let your baby chew on the cold, damp cloth. The texture of the fabric adds an additional sensory dimension that many babies find satisfying, and the cold moisture soothes inflamed tissue. This is particularly useful for younger babies who haven't yet developed the hand strength and coordination to manage a teething toy effectively.
Chilled Food for Babies Eating Solids
For babies who have started solids — typically from around six months — cold foods offer a combined nutritional and teething-relief benefit. Chilled cucumber sticks that are large enough to grip and gnaw but not small enough to bite off and choke on are a classic choice. Cold mango spears, refrigerated banana, chilled steamed broccoli florets held by the stalk, and chilled cooked carrot sticks all work on the same principle. The food should be cold from the refrigerator rather than frozen solid, and any food offered for this purpose should be appropriate for the baby's developmental stage and supervised carefully.
Mesh feeding bags filled with cold fruit are another option specifically designed for this purpose. The mesh allows the baby to mouth and suck the food without being able to take a large piece into the mouth, which addresses the choking concern while still delivering cold, flavorful relief against sore gums. Frozen pieces of banana or soft fruit inside a mesh feeder are a frequent recommendation in baby-led weaning communities for this reason.
Gum Massage
Direct gum massage with a clean finger is one of the most immediate and effective natural teething remedies safe for babies, and it costs nothing. The counter-pressure delivered by a parent's clean fingertip pressing gently but firmly against the swollen gum tissue addresses the pressure sensation directly. Most babies respond with a mix of resistance and obvious relief — they may initially try to pull away from the pressure, then settle and lean into it.
The technique is simple. Wash your hands thoroughly, lay the baby in a comfortable position, and use your index finger to apply gentle circular pressure to the gum in the area where the tooth is emerging. You'll be able to feel the hardness of the tooth bud beneath the gum surface. Apply firm but not forceful pressure for thirty to sixty seconds, then move on. Many parents make gum massage part of a pre-sleep routine during active teething periods, as the relief it provides can help settle a fussy baby.
Silicone finger brushes, which slip over the fingertip like a small glove with a textured surface, serve the same purpose as bare-finger gum massage while adding texture that many babies find more satisfying. They're also easy to clean and double as an introduction to oral hygiene care, making them a genuinely useful product for this developmental period.
Supporting Your Baby Through Teething Discomfort
Extra Comfort and Physical Closeness
Physical closeness during teething is underrated as a remedy. When a baby is in discomfort, the regulatory effect of being held close to a familiar caregiver — hearing a known heartbeat, smelling a familiar scent, feeling contained and safe — reduces the subjective experience of pain in ways that are neurologically real, not just anecdotally observed. Studies on pain in infants consistently show that skin-to-skin contact and caregiver proximity reduce stress hormone levels and lower pain responses.
Babywearing during peak teething discomfort periods keeps the baby close and supported while freeing the parent's hands for other tasks. Many parents report that a fussy teething baby who resists being put down settles significantly faster in a carrier than in any other setup. This isn't a remedy in the product sense, but it is a genuine and evidence-supported strategy for managing teething distress.
Managing Drool Rash
The dramatic increase in drool production during teething creates a secondary problem that needs its own management: drool rash. When saliva sits on delicate facial skin for extended periods — around the mouth, on the chin, and down the neck — it breaks down the skin barrier and causes irritation that can become quite sore. Left unmanaged, drool rash adds a significant surface discomfort to the internal discomfort of teething.
The most effective approach is prevention through frequent gentle drying and barrier protection. Blotting — not wiping, which removes more skin barrier — the face and neck regularly throughout the day removes saliva before it has time to irritate. Applying a thin layer of a pure, fragrance-free barrier balm such as lanolin or a simple unscented zinc cream over the chin and neck before feeding sessions and naps creates a physical barrier between saliva and skin. Absorbent bandana bibs are practical for keeping the neck drier throughout the day without requiring frequent clothing changes.
Consistent Sleep Support
Teething and sleep disruption go together in a way that most parents experience as one of the more wearing aspects of the teething period. A baby who has been sleeping through the night may begin waking multiple times, and the instinct to introduce new sleep associations — feeding to sleep, prolonged rocking, bringing the baby into the adult bed — is completely understandable in the moment but can create habits that outlast the teething episode.
During active teething flares, some flexibility with sleep routines is appropriate and compassionate. The key is distinguishing between acute teething discomfort — which responds to the cold and pressure remedies described above, applied before sleep — and habitual waking that has begun to occur independent of actual discomfort. Offering a chilled teething toy, doing a gum massage, and providing ten minutes of close physical comfort before returning to the usual sleep routine addresses the discomfort without creating a new dependency.
When Natural Remedies Aren't Enough
For some teething episodes — particularly the first molars, which break through a significantly larger gum area — natural remedies alone may not provide sufficient relief. In these situations, infant acetaminophen or infant ibuprofen (for babies over six months) administered at the correct weight-based dose is an appropriate and safe option. These medications are not natural in the sense of being plant or food-derived, but they are the teething interventions with the strongest evidence base and the clearest safety profile.
The decision to use pain relief medication for teething should be based on the baby's observable level of distress — not on the parent's desire to restore sleep or quiet. If your baby is eating normally, playing between discomfort episodes, and responding to natural remedies with reasonable calm, medication is likely unnecessary. If your baby is persistently inconsolable, refusing feeds, or showing signs of significant pain that aren't responding to the approaches described above, a dose of appropriate infant pain reliever at the correct dosage for their weight is a reasonable and compassionate choice. When in doubt, discuss with your pediatrician.
Building a Teething Toolkit That Works
The most effective approach to managing teething is having several strategies available and rotating between them based on what your specific baby responds to best. What works brilliantly for one baby — the chilled washcloth, for example — may be ignored completely by another who responds better to gum massage or a silicone teething toy with a particular texture.
Natural teething remedies that are safe for babies work primarily through cold, counter-pressure, and physical comfort — three things that address the actual mechanisms of teething discomfort without any chemical intervention and without any safety risk. Building a simple toolkit of two or three chilled teething toys in rotation, a supply of clean washcloths, a silicone finger brush for gum massage, a good barrier balm for drool rash, and an understanding of how physical closeness and sleep support interact with teething discomfort gives most parents everything they need to navigate the teething period calmly and effectively.
Teething passes. Every tooth that causes a difficult week eventually arrives, and the baby who was inconsolable on Tuesday is cheerfully gnawing a cracker by the weekend. In the meantime, keep the remedies simple, keep them safe, and trust that you have everything you need to help your baby through it.