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Teething

Drool Comes First

The teeth take months to show up. The drool arrives immediately, and it's the drool that soaks the most stuff.

Bibs

You've probably got a stash of these from the feeding days, and they'll do the job at the start. The catch is that a feeding bib is built for mealtimes, so it comes off after lunch, while teething drool works around the clock. If bub's soaking through by mid-morning, the next two products are why.

Dribble Bib

This one lives on bub all day and gets swapped like a nappy. The layer that matters is the back: a waterproof or fleece backing stops the wet reaching the singlet underneath, which is the whole point. Without it, you're just adding another thing to the wash.

Bandana Bib

Same job as the dribble bib, cut on an angle so it looks like part of the outfit instead of a piece of kit. Mums tell us these are the ones that stay on for photos and daycare drop-off. Check for the same absorbent-front, dry-back construction; some of the cute ones are a single thin layer.

Baby Carrier Dribble Pads

If you babywear, you'll discover the carrier straps sit exactly at chewing height, and a carrier is a much bigger washing job than a bib. Dribble pads wrap around the straps, cop the gumming and drool, and go in the machine while the carrier stays dry. Worth a look if the school run or the shops happen in the carrier most days.

Face Washer

The cheapest thing in this article and the one you'll reach for most. Wipes chins, mops puddles off the play mat, and (here's the teething trick) a wet one popped in the fridge or freezer for a bit becomes a cold chew that costs about a dollar. Keep a few in rotation so there's always one cooling.

Nappy Rash Cream

Two jobs during teething. Constant drool can leave bub's chin and neck folds red and raw, and a thin smear of barrier cream protects the skin the same way it protects a bottom. And plenty of mums notice nappy rash flares up when teeth are on the move, so the tub gets a workout at both ends. Ask the chemist or your child health nurse for samples before committing to a full tub.

Something to Chew On

Cold and counter-pressure are what actually soothe sore gums, and every product in this lot is a different way of delivering them. Bub will have firm opinions about which one.

Teething Ring

The classic chew. Solid silicone or rubber rings just get gnawed at room temperature; gel or water-filled ones go in the fridge for extra relief. Fridge, not freezer, for the filled ones, as frozen-solid gel can be too hard on little gums and the casing can split. Check the label, because they're not all fridge-safe.

Teething Toy

Where the ring is one shape, the toy is every shape: giraffes, keys, feet, textured corners for reaching the back gums. The textures matter more than the character, since different bumps and ridges hit different sore spots. If bub has claimed a favourite, it's worth knowing where to get another before the first one goes missing at Grandma's.

Teething Mitt

For the window where bub wants to chew their fists but can't yet hold a toy, usually around three to six months. It straps onto the hand with a textured silicone front, so the chewing happens on the mitt instead of on soggy knuckles. Short window, but the mums who hit it use the mitt daily until bub can grip.

Teething Necklace for Mum

Feed a teething baby and they'll go for your collarbone, your actual necklace, or a fistful of hair. Chunky silicone beads on a breakaway clasp give them something better, worn by you and chewed by bub. The important bit is in the name: this one goes around your neck, never around bub's.

Fresh Food Feeder

Frozen fruit is what a lot of sore gums want, and frozen fruit is also a choking risk. Load the mesh or silicone pouch with cold watermelon or banana, and bub gnaws the handle while only mush makes it through. It doubles as a starting-solids gadget around six months. Rinse it the same day, or you'll be going at it with a toothpick.

Teething Rusk

The old-school hard biscuit that softens slowly as it's gummed. Rusks are for bubs already started on solids, and they're a sit-down, watched activity, not a pram snack, because softened chunks can break off. Check the packet too; some are sweeter than you'd expect for something sold as a baby product.

Cot Rail

Once bub can pull to stand, the cot rail is at exactly gum height, and plenty of parents discover a row of tiny bite marks in the timber. A cot rail cover (usually padded fabric or clear plastic that straps on) protects the cot and stops bub swallowing flecks of paint or varnish. Make sure it fastens firmly with no loose ties inside the cot.

The Chemist Aisle

This is where the decisions get more serious, so it's also where your pharmacist and child health nurse earn their keep. Chat to them before anything on this list goes in or on your baby.

Pain Relief

For the genuinely miserable nights, infant paracetamol or ibuprofen is what most GPs will point to. Dosing is by weight, not age, so have bub's latest weigh-in handy and let the pharmacist do the maths with you. Worth knowing: a fever above 38°C isn't considered a teething symptom, so if bub is properly hot, that's a GP visit, not a teething night.

Teething Gel

This one changed while you weren't looking. Gels containing choline salicylate (the old Bonjela formula) moved behind the pharmacy counter in October 2023 over the risk of overuse in babies, and Australian therapeutic guidelines don't recommend teething gels at all. Some parents still swear by them. If you want one in the drawer, buy it from a pharmacist and follow the dosing exactly.

Teething Powder

Sachets of powder, usually homeopathic or herbal, tipped onto the gums or tongue. There's no scientific evidence they ease teething, and overseas regulators have pulled some brands over ingredient concerns, so this is firmly a check-with-your-pharmacist product. If a friend swears by them, ask the pharmacist to look at the specific brand before it goes anywhere near bub's mouth.

Amber Teething Necklace

We have to be straight with you on this one. Amber necklaces are sold on the claim that warmed beads release succinic acid through bub's skin, but there's no evidence they work, and the ACCC has issued a formal safety warning after testing found they can break into small beads and pose a choking hazard. Red Nose advises against babies wearing anything around their neck, awake or asleep, because of the strangulation risk.

Some mums wear them on bub's ankle instead, often under a sock, which does get it away from the neck. The choking risk doesn't move with it though: the beads can still snap off, and an ankle is exactly where grabby hands and gummy mouths spend their day. If you want the chew-jewellery idea, the mum-worn silicone necklace above does it without anything around bub's neck. Your call, as always, but that's the full picture.

The Teeth Have Landed

The prize for surviving teething is a lifetime of cleaning teeth. The good news is the starting kit is tiny.

Gum & Tooth Wipes

Before any teeth arrive, dentists suggest wiping bub's gums with a clean, damp cloth after feeds, and these single-use wipes are the packaged version of that. A face washer over your finger does the identical job for free, so this one comes down to whether you'd rather grab a wipe from the nappy bag. Handy out and about; less necessary at home.

Finger Brush

Getting a toothbrush anywhere near a baby who's already cross about their gums can be a battle, so a finger brush is a gentle way in. It's a soft silicone cap that slips over your fingertip with little bristles on the end, so you can give those first teeth a clean and massage sore gums at the same time (bub will bite you, and yes, that's normal). Use it from the very first tooth, then move on to a proper baby toothbrush once there are a few.

Toothbrush

Once a few teeth are through, move to a small, soft baby toothbrush and brush twice a day. Look for a chunky, easy-grip handle, because bub will demand a turn, and a "you go, then I go" arrangement gets the job done with less wrestling. Replace it once the bristles splay, or after bub uses it to clean the floor.

Kids Toothpaste

Australian guidelines say plain water is all you need on the brush until 18 months, then a pea-sized smear of low-fluoride children's toothpaste from 18 months to five years. So depending on when you're reading this, toothpaste might not go on the list for another year yet. When it's time, teach spitting, not rinsing, and keep the tube out of reach, because the flavours are designed to be delicious.

Every product here solved a very specific teething problem for somebody. You won't know which problems are yours until the drooling and gnawing are underway. Start small, meet your baby's gums where they're at, and come back to this list once you know whether you've got a happy chewer, a drool machine, or a bub who needs the big guns at 2am.

The chemist is open late, and the teeth come through either way.