Teething is one of the many milestones of parenting a young child. As those little white buds begin breaking through the gums, many parents find themselves dealing with a cranky, drooling baby. While there are many ways to help ease the pain of teething, one of the most effective is to give your baby something to chew on.
Baby teethers provide various benefits because they are specifically designed to aid babies in their teething journey. Let’s take an even closer look at these amazing items to see the different ways they can benefit your little one.
Teething Toys and Their Tremendous Benefits
Having the best teethers for babies is great, but do you know how they help your baby while teething? Check out how baby teething toys can aid your child through their teething journey and positively affect their growth in the long run.
Relieve and Soothe Teething Pain
Giving your baby a teether to chew on provides teething relief by massaging the gums and providing a distraction from the discomfort. Chewing on a teether can also help reduce the pain of teething by counter pressure.
Some of the best teething toys can be chilled in the fridge for extra relief, while others have built-in massagers or vibrate when pressed. You can also find baby teethers made from all sorts of materials, including food-grade silicone, rubber, and even wood.
Aid in Gum and Jaw Development
Many parents are surprised to learn that teethers can actually aid in developing their child’s jaw. While it may seem like these toys are nothing more than a distraction from the pain of teething, they can help strengthen your baby’s jaw muscles.
In addition, teething toys can also help promote saliva production, which is essential for keeping tender gums healthy.
Ensure Proper Teeth and Biting Alignment
When teething, most babies often gnaw on anything they can get their hands on, including their little fingers! This can cause teeth and bite misalignment. Luckily, teething toys can help ensure that your baby’s teeth and bite stay properly aligned.
By giving your baby a teether to chew on, you’re helping the muscles in their face and jaw grow stronger. A teething toy also helps the bones in their jaw develop properly. This helps ensure that the teeth come in correctly and that your child has proper jaw alignment.
Prepare Your Baby for Eating Solid Food
Around the time your baby starts to grow teeth, they will also start to show interest in solid food. So even though they don’t have teeth yet, they can still gum their food and start learning how to eat.
By gnawing on a teething toy, your baby is learning how to use its mouth muscles to chew. They are also getting used to different textures. But most importantly, they can start practicing self-feeding with the teething toy. So when it’s time to start eating solid food, your baby will already have some experience and will be less likely to make a complete mess.
Improve Grip Strength and Fine Motor Skills
Teethers not only reduce the pain of teething and sore gums but also help improve grip strength and fine motor skills. Teething toys that need to be grasped and held onto help develop the muscles in a baby’s hands and fingers. Those require agility and coordination to develop fine motor skills.
In addition, using the best teething toy can also help babies develop a stronger sense of self-awareness and improve their hand-eye coordination. These things help make the teething experience easier for babies and parents.
Choosing the Right Teething Toy for Your Child
As a parent, you want your baby to have the best of everything, including teething toys. But how do you choose the perfect teether for your child with so many different types available? Worry not because we’ll help you choose the most suitable teething toy for your child!
Here are a few things you should know when buying a teether:
Durability
Generally, the teething toy you choose must withstand chewing, pulling, and sucking without becoming a choking hazard. That’s why it’s important to check the teether’s quality to ensure that it will not break while your baby is using it. This is crucial regardless if the teething toy is made of wood or silicone.
Materials
You want to be completely certain that this item doesn’t contain toxic materials because it will be in your baby’s mouth. So it’s best to get hypoallergenic teethers and avoid ones with phthalates, PVC, BPA, or toxic paints. To help you pick the right material for your baby’s teething toy, here are the two kinds of teethers made of different materials:
- Wooden Teether. A wooden baby teether offers an entirely natural alternative to a synthetic teether and has natural antibacterial properties. Additionally, it’s non-toxic and durable, making it an ideal baby teething toy.
- Silicone Teether. A silicone baby teether is the least expensive and most widely used type of teething toy that can gently massage tender gums. You can easily sterilize the silicone teether. Plus, you can keep the silicone baby teether chilled to add extra relief to your child’s sore gums.
Design
Teethers usually come in cute designs, including teething necklaces, teething rings, teething bracelets, and other teething toys. But remember that the best teething toys for babies serve a very important purpose. Thus, ensure that the teether you choose is designed with a comfortable grip so your baby can easily pick it up and hold on to it whenever they need it.
Additionally, their texture should be smooth to soothe sore gums. They shouldn’t have any edges that could hurt your baby’s gums. They should be big enough without detachable smaller bits to prevent choking concerns.
Other Ways to Ease Your Baby’s Teething Discomfort
The baby teething process is a challenging period for both babies and parents. In addition to the discomfort with new teeth pushing through the gums, babies may also experience increased drooling, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and other teething symptoms.
Aside from using baby teething toys to prevent gum soreness, you can do other things to ease your baby’s discomfort during the teething journey.
Rub Your Baby’s Gums With a Moistened Gauze Pad
One way to help soothe your baby’s teething pain is to rub their gums with a moistened gauze pad. The pressure and moisture from the gauze can help alleviate inflammation and discomfort. Plus, chewing on the gauze can help loosen up the gum tissue and make it easier for the tooth to erupt.
Just be sure to use a clean gauze pad each time. Watch your child closely to ensure they don’t choke on it.
Keep Your Baby’s Gums Cool
Keeping your baby’s gums cool is another way to soothe sore gums. A cold cloth, a chilled spoon, or a chilled teething ring can all relieve the soreness and swelling associated with teething. That’s because the cold numbs the gums and helps reduce inflammation. You can also give your baby a frozen fruit popsicle or a small cup of chilled juice to suck on.
It’s important to ensure that any objects you use are clean and free of harmful chemicals. You should also avoid leaving your infant unattended with a cold object, as it can be a choking hazard.
Give Your Baby Chewable Food Like Teething Biscuits
You might want to give your child something edible to gnaw on if they are teething. This includes teething biscuits and peeled and cold vegetables like cucumbers or carrots. Giving them safe treats to chew on won’t only soothe sore gums but also help them enjoy the process. It will also prepare them for eating solid food in the near future.
Again, keep a tight eye on your infant because any fragments that separate from the food could be a choking risk.
Ensuring the Best Teething Experience for Your Child
Teething babies suffer from sore gums and other forms of pain and discomfort. That’s why parents like you need to be informed about how you can aid your child through their teething journey.
Knowing the best teether and other ways to soothe sore gums is crucial in ensuring your child won’t have the worst time growing new teeth. So if you’re looking for a way to ease your baby’s discomfort while teething, check out our collection of baby essentials here at Ashtonbee.
