Somewhere around four to seven months, your baby starts drooling more than usual, chewing on everything within reach, and waking up at 2 am looking thoroughly unimpressed with the situation. Teething is a very reasonable suspect - and also one of those baby stages surrounded by more well-meaning bad advice than almost any other.
This guide sticks to two things: what teething usually actually looks like, and what genuinely helps - including naming a couple of popular remedies that health authorities have specifically flagged as unsafe, because that information matters more than most articles let on.
⚠️ Medical Disclaimer - This article reflects published guidance from health authorities including the FDA and AAP. It's for general information - for concerns about your specific baby, talk to your paediatrician or paediatric dentist.
When Does Teething Actually Start?
Most babies get their first tooth somewhere between 4 and 7 months, though the range considered normal is genuinely wider than that - some babies start earlier, some later, and both can be completely fine. By age 3, most children have all 20 baby teeth.
What Teething Usually Looks Like
- Increased drooling - often enough to need more frequent bib changes
- Chewing or gnawing on hands, toys, or anything within reach
- Mild irritability, sometimes worse in the evening
- Slightly disrupted sleep for a few nights around a new tooth breaking through
- Occasionally, a mild low-grade temperature - though a true fever is not typically caused by teething and should be evaluated separately
If your baby has a genuinely high fever, diarrhoea, or seems significantly unwell - not just fussy - it's worth checking with your paediatrician, since these aren't standard teething symptoms even though the timing sometimes overlaps.
What Actually Helps
Gum Massage
Wash your hands and gently rub your baby's gums with your fingertip. It's simple, free, and genuinely recommended by paediatric guidance - you'll also feel exactly where the tooth is coming through.
A Firm, Chilled (Not Frozen) Teething Ring
Cold pressure on the gums is soothing, and firm rubber teethers give your baby something safe to chew on. Chilled in the fridge works well; avoid freezing solid, as an overly hard, frozen teether can actually be uncomfortable or even harm the gums.
A Cool, Damp Washcloth
A simple, low-cost option - chill a clean washcloth and let your baby chew on it. Easy to keep on hand and easy to replace.
Paracetamol, If Needed
If gum massage and teethers aren't enough and your baby seems genuinely uncomfortable, ask your paediatrician about age-appropriate infant paracetamol dosing.
What to Actually Avoid - And Why
Benzocaine and Lidocaine Gels
Products like numbing teething gels sold for this exact purpose have received specific FDA warnings, including action urging their removal from retail shelves. These can cause a rare but serious condition called methemoglobinemia, which reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen - a genuinely dangerous risk for the modest, short-lived relief they provide. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend these products for teething.
Amber Teething Necklaces
Popular in some parenting circles, marketed on the claim that warmth releases a pain-relieving compound from the amber. The FDA has specifically warned against these - not on the pain-relief claim (which has no established scientific backing) but on safety grounds: choking risk if beads break off, and strangulation risk if worn during sleep or left unsupervised. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against infants wearing any jewellery at all, given that suffocation remains a leading cause of death in this age group.
Homeopathic Teething Tablets and Gels
The FDA has issued specific warnings against these products as well, citing safety concerns significant enough to advise against their use altogether.
⚠️ Two Categories to Skip Entirely - If a product promises fast teething relief and involves something worn around your baby's neck or applied as a numbing gel, that's a reasonable signal to check FDA/AAP guidance before using it - both of these categories have received explicit safety warnings.
A Simple, Safe Teething Toolkit
- Clean fingers for gum massage - always available, always free
- A firm rubber teething ring, chilled (not frozen) in the fridge
- A clean, chilled washcloth as a backup option
- Age-appropriate infant paracetamol, only after checking with your paediatrician on dosing
- Extra bibs - the drooling is real and relentless for a few weeks
When to Call Your Paediatrician
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A genuinely high fever (not just mild warmth), rather than the low-grade temperature sometimes seen with teething
-
Diarrhoea, vomiting, or a rash - these aren't typical teething symptoms
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Persistent, significant distress that gum massage and teethers don't touch
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Any concern at all - teething overlaps in timing with several other things that are worth ruling out
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Sources & Further Reading
FDA: Safely soothing teething pain in infants and children - fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/safely-soothing-teething-pain-infants-and-children
FDA warning on teething necklaces (AAP News) - publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/9241/FDA-Teething-necklaces-can-lead-to-choking
HealthyChildren.org (AAP): Teething Necklaces and Beads - A Caution for Parents - healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/teething-tooth-care/Pages/Amber-Teething-Necklaces.aspx
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