When can you give your baby a teether?
When a teether is safe to offer, which types to avoid, what teething does and does not cause, and how to keep teethers clean in this humidity.
A teether is safe to offer as soon as your baby can hold something and bring it to her mouth, which is usually around 3 to 4 months. The first tooth normally arrives at about 6 months. Chill a one-piece silicone or solid rubber teether in the fridge, never the freezer, and skip gels, tablets and anything worn around her neck.
Behind the teether question sits a harder one. Whether what you are seeing is teething at all.
When to start offering one
There is no printed minimum age, because the limiting factor is her coordination. Somewhere around 3 to 4 months she begins reaching for things and taking them to her mouth deliberately, and from that point a teether is a toy she can use.
That mouthing phase arrives before the teeth do, and it is developmental rather than dental. Our page on why babies put everything in their mouths explains what she is actually doing.
Teething itself tends to make gnawing more purposeful. She will chew harder, on firmer things, and favour one side.
When teeth actually arrive
The NHS puts the first tooth at around 6 months, with a wide normal range: some babies start before 4 months, some after their first birthday, and a few are born with one already through.
The usual order:
| Teeth | Typical age |
|---|---|
| Lower front two | 6 to 10 months |
| Upper front two | 8 to 12 months |
| Upper and lower side front teeth | 9 to 16 months |
| First molars | 13 to 19 months |
| Canines | 16 to 23 months |
| Second molars | 23 to 33 months |
A full set of 20 milk teeth is usually in by about two and a half to three years. No teeth at all by the first birthday is worth raising at a polyclinic visit, and is very often just late.
Signs of teething, and the ones that are not
Likely teething. Drooling, chewing everything, a red or swollen patch of gum, a flushed cheek on one side, crankiness, disturbed sleep, feeding that starts and stops.
Not teething. A fever of 38 °C or more. Diarrhoea. A rash over the body. Vomiting. Being floppy or unusually sleepy. The AAP is explicit that teething does not cause high fever or diarrhoea.
That distinction matters here more than in cooler countries. Hand, foot and mouth disease circulates steadily in Singapore preschools and childcare centres, and it starts with a drooling, miserable baby who will not eat, which looks exactly like teething until the mouth ulcers and the spots appear. Dengue also starts as a high fever and nothing else.
So a baby with a temperature is a baby to have looked at, not a baby who is teething.
Which teethers to choose
One solid piece. Silicone or firm rubber, with nothing that can detach.
Big enough not to go in whole. Larger than the width of her mouth.
No liquid inside. Fluid-filled teethers can split, and in our humidity anything with an internal cavity grows mould you cannot see.
No attachments or clips around the neck. A clip to the clothing is fine. Nothing around the neck.
Easy to wash. Dishwasher-safe or boilable, because you will be cleaning it several times a day.
Textured silicone and solid wooden teethers both work. Wooden ones need drying properly after washing, which in this climate takes longer than you expect.
Chilled, never frozen
Cold numbs and reduces swelling, and it is one of the simplest things you can do for a sore gum.
Put the teether in the fridge. Not the freezer, because a frozen teether becomes hard enough to bruise gum tissue, and the AAP advises against it for that reason.
Other options that work:
- A clean damp flannel, chilled and offered to chew
- Firm gum pressure from your clean finger
- A chilled spoon
- Cold water from a cup, once she is drinking
- A hard, unsweetened teething rusk for a baby already on solids, supervised throughout
For a baby over 2 months, paracetamol at the correct dose for her weight is reasonable for a bad night, and a pharmacist or your polyclinic will confirm the dose.
What to keep away from her
Teething jewellery. The FDA has warned against amber and silicone necklaces and bracelets because of choking and strangulation risks, with reported deaths. There is no evidence amber relieves anything.
Benzocaine and lidocaine gels. The FDA has warned against both for teething in young children, because benzocaine can cause methaemoglobinaemia, a rare condition that reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. These gels are still sold in some places.
Homeopathic teething tablets and powders. The FDA has acted on products found to contain inconsistent amounts of belladonna.
Medicated oils containing camphor or menthol rubbed on the gums, which are widely used here and not appropriate for infants.
Anything with liquid, batteries, glitter or small parts.
Keeping teethers clean in this weather
A teether lives in a baby's mouth, then on the floor, then in a bag. Our humidity makes that worse than it sounds, because anything left damp grows something.
- Wash with soap and hot water after each session, and dry fully
- Boil or sterilise silicone ones every few days
- Dry wooden ones standing up, out of a closed bag
- Throw away anything cracked, split or sticky
- Keep a second one in rotation so one is always dry
Our guide to disinfecting baby toys by material covers what each type can take.
Once the first tooth is through
Start brushing that day, with a soft baby brush and a smear of toothpaste the size of a grain of rice. The AAP and HealthHub both recommend fluoride toothpaste from the first tooth, in that small amount, with you holding the brush. A baby who cannot spit will swallow some, which is why the amount is so small. If you prefer a fluoride-free paste, choose one made for babies, such as our Baby & Kids Toothpaste for babies from 6 months. Our Non-Fluoride Toothpaste is the adult paste, made with pregnancy in mind, and is not meant for babies.
Milk or juice in a bottle at bedtime pools sugar against the new upper front teeth, which is where early decay shows first. Finish the feed, then brush, then bed.
Her first dental visit belongs around the first birthday or when the first tooth appears, whichever comes sooner, and KKH and private paediatric dentists both see babies that young. Our pages on teeth and gum care for infants and swollen gums in children pick up from there, and choosing a kids toothpaste deals with the fluoride question properly.
Frequently asked questions
- What age can a baby use a teether?
- As soon as she can bring an object to her mouth and hold it, which is usually around 3 to 4 months. There is no minimum age printed anywhere, because the limit is her coordination rather than the calendar.
- When does the first tooth come through?
- Usually around 6 months, though the normal range is wide, and the two lower front teeth generally arrive first. A baby with no teeth at her first birthday is worth mentioning at a routine check, and is often simply late.
- Are amber teething necklaces safe?
- No. The FDA has warned against teething jewellery because of choking and strangulation risk, and there is no evidence that amber relieves anything. Nothing should be worn around a baby's neck.
- Can I use a teething gel?
- Not one containing benzocaine or lidocaine. The FDA has warned against both for teething in young children because of a rare but serious blood disorder. Chilled pressure on the gum does more and risks nothing.
- Does teething cause fever and diarrhoea?
- Not a real fever, and not diarrhoea. The AAP says teething does not cause high fever or diarrhoea, and the NHS mentions at most a mild rise in temperature. A temperature of 38 °C or more, or diarrhoea, points to an illness, and attributing a real illness to teething is how a sick baby gets watched instead of seen.
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This article is for information only and is not a substitute for diagnosis or medical advice. Please talk to your doctor about your own situation.
