Gentle pressure on the gums is the single most effective way to ease teething pain. Rubbing your baby’s gums with a clean finger or wet gauze for about two minutes can provide immediate relief, and you can repeat it as often as needed. Beyond that, a combination of chilled (not frozen) teething aids, comfort measures, and, when necessary, age-appropriate pain relievers will get most babies through the worst of it.
Why Teething Hurts
Teething is the process of a tooth migrating from inside the jawbone up through the gum tissue. That movement inflames and irritates the gums, which is why your baby’s mouth looks red and swollen around the eruption site. The irritation also triggers extra saliva production, which explains the constant drooling.
Most babies cut their first tooth around 6 months, though the timeline varies. The process comes and goes in waves as different teeth push through, with the sharpest discomfort usually lasting a few days around each eruption. Molars, which have a broader surface, tend to cause more pain than the narrow front teeth.
Pressure and Cold: The Best First-Line Relief
The simplest remedy is also the most reliable. Press a clean finger or a piece of damp gauze against your baby’s swollen gums and rub gently. The counter-pressure works against the force of the tooth pushing upward, and babies often calm down within minutes. You can do this throughout the day whenever fussiness spikes.
Cold adds another layer of relief by temporarily numbing the tissue. Chill a teething ring, a pacifier, or a wet washcloth in the refrigerator and let your baby gnaw on it. The key rule: refrigerate, never freeze. Frozen items can cause frostbite on delicate gum tissue, so skip ice pops and ice cubes for babies. For children older than 1, you can wrap a small piece of ice in a wet cloth and rub it on the gums, or offer chilled soft fruit like banana slices in a mesh feeder.
Firm rubber teethers (not liquid-filled ones, which can leak) give your baby something safe to bite down on. The chewing motion itself helps relieve the pressure building beneath the gums.
Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers
When pressure and cold aren’t enough, infant acetaminophen is an option for babies of any age, dosed by weight. Infant ibuprofen is another choice, but only for babies 6 months and older. Both are effective at reducing gum inflammation and taking the edge off pain, especially at bedtime when discomfort tends to feel worse.
Always dose by your baby’s weight rather than age, and follow the intervals on the package. Ibuprofen can be given every 6 to 8 hours if needed. If you’re unsure about the right dose, your pediatrician’s office can walk you through it over the phone.
Products to Avoid
Several widely marketed teething products carry serious risks that far outweigh any potential benefit.
- Numbing gels and creams. Products containing benzocaine (sold under names like Orajel and Anbesol) or lidocaine can cause a rare but life-threatening condition where the blood’s ability to carry oxygen drops dramatically. The FDA has warned that these products should not be used for teething pain in children and that they offer little to no benefit for this purpose. Benzocaine-related reactions can be fatal.
- Homeopathic teething tablets. The FDA found that some homeopathic tablets labeled as containing belladonna actually had unpredictable, inconsistent levels of toxic compounds like atropine and scopolamine, sometimes far exceeding what the label stated. These products have been linked to serious adverse events in infants.
- Amber teething necklaces. There is no credible evidence that amber releases any pain-relieving substance through skin contact. What these necklaces do present is a real strangulation and choking hazard. Testing found that 8 out of 10 amber necklace clasps required enough force to obstruct a small child’s airway before they’d open. The FDA has received reports of infant deaths from strangulation and choking associated with teething jewelry. The American Academy of Pediatrics, along with pediatric organizations in Canada and Brazil, advises against any necklaces, chains, or cords worn around a young child’s neck.
Managing Nighttime Discomfort
Teething pain often feels worse at night because there are fewer distractions and your baby is lying down, which can increase blood flow to the gums. A dose of acetaminophen or ibuprofen (if age-appropriate) about 30 minutes before bedtime can help your baby settle. Breastfeeding or bottle-feeding right before sleep also helps, since the suckling motion is naturally soothing.
If your baby wakes mid-sleep, extra cuddles and gentle gum rubbing may be enough to get them back down. These disruptions are temporary and typically last only a few nights around each tooth’s breakthrough. Keeping the room dark and your interactions calm signals that it’s still time for sleep, even if comfort is needed.
Teething Symptoms vs. Illness
Teething can make a baby irritable, drooly, and slightly warm, but it does not cause a true fever. A body temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher is a fever, and that’s a sign of infection, not teething. The timing is easy to confuse because babies start teething around 6 months, which is also when the protective antibodies passed from their mother begin to fade, making them more vulnerable to viruses and bacteria.
If your baby has a temperature at or above 100.4°F, diarrhea that lasts more than a day or two, or seems unusually lethargic, treat it as a potential illness rather than assuming teething is the cause. A temperature above 104°F (40°C) requires emergency care.
Caring for New Teeth
The moment the first tooth appears, it needs to be brushed. Use a soft infant toothbrush with a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste, no bigger than a grain of rice, twice a day. Even before the first tooth erupts, wiping your baby’s gums with a soft damp cloth after feedings helps establish a routine and keeps the mouth clean, which may also reduce gum irritation during active teething.