Your little one might start reaching for dangerous household objects — or your hands or shoulders, ouch!

While it’s thrilling that your little one is developing her own beautiful set of pearly whites, many babies also experience pain and fussiness when they start teething. Many natural teething toys unfortunately can’t be sterilized or put in the dishwasher, but this Comotomo teether is a happy exception. Examination of paraben release from baby teethers through migration tests and GC–MS analysis using a stable isotope dilution assay. Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.

It’s very easy to clean, too; you can put it in the dishwasher or a sterilizer in addition to hand-washing it. My grandson breaks out in mild hives when he eats, or even touches certain foods and when our dog licks him. Some people prefer to only use a teether as their baby’s first set of teeth comes in, but molar eruption (which tends to happen past 12 months) may also be painful, in which case you can continue to use a teether throughout the entire teething process. We asked them to set up each toothbrush according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then teach their child how to use the toothbrush so they could use it independently and properly.

When choosing teething relief products for your little one, be sure to also avoid topical products that contain the gum-numbing ingredient benzocaine, which can have rare, but life-threatening side effects. For example, some are more soft and flexible for beginning teeth (3 months and up), while others soothe incoming molars in older babies (12 months and up).

The Loulou Lollipop Rainbow Teether is great for a baby who gravitates toward flat, grooved, soft textures.

Red light therapy works by increasing circulation and speeding cell turnover, which helps to prevent sensitivity while whitening.While most people think that teethers are only necessary for the first few teeth, the molar eruption can also be very painful. The Baby Banana pulls double duty as a teether and your child’s first attempt at using a toothbrush. I used ghee in place of coconut oil and freeze dried mango powder to flavor these “mango-banana” and my LO chewed happily. Every baby is different, and some end up teething so early they can’t even firmly hold a teething ring yet. Plus, the safety cap has four small holes that allow the melted liquid to flow through for less mess.