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I don't use anything unless I'm desperate, then I use tylenol bc it's what we have. But most of my brain doesn't think teething is actually painful - I think it's a myth and parents just want something to blame for fussiness. When adult teeth come in, they don't hurt.

We used the teething tablets for my daughter before they were recalled. However, I always gave lower/much less frequent doses than are allowed according to the label. It was a little alarming how many doses they allowed in a short period of time. If those weren't available, I guess I would use Tylenol or Motrin if it got bad enough. There were some sleepless nights when we did use those.

Teething meds, like tablets or orajel, are a hard no for me. Same with the necklaces. There’s zero evidence they work (actually more like evidence they don’t do anything) and it makes me way too nervous re: choking hazard. I just give Motrin for teething, seems safest and most regulated/studied.

We didn't do anything for teething. Both boys would find something to chew on but that's it.

I remember getting my 12-year molars and my one wisdom tooth being miserable. I don't know if getting my other adult teeth was painful/painless -- I don't remember. We gave our kid acetaminophen or ibuprofen almost every night for a loooong time or he just did not sleep.

@DesertDreams88: did your wisdom teeth ever come in? Because I remember clearly that those hurt, so I do think teething hurts babies/toddlers.

@NorthStar: We just use Motrin or Tylenol. I tried Orajel on her right before I had heard the reports, and she always seemed to get a rash on her face from it (more so than when she was just drooly, and never happened after I stopped the Orajel) and it didn't seem to help anyway.

I use acetaminophen or ibuprofen if i can see the tooth about to break through and if they are acting off. but i'm kind of a skeptic about how significant the pain from teething actually is, so i tend to be conservative.

I had read scary stuff about the tablets and oragel before I encountered teething so I never really used them. I think I tried oragel once for my older one and it didn’t make a difference anyway. But teething definitely bothered both my kids a lot and I have ibuprofen as needed. The molars in particular just changed their personalities. I also used camilia which seemed to help some but who knows.

@JennyLayneAZ: im sure it’s a different experience for everyone! Im certain my kids have experienced some discomfort with certain teeth- j just think a lot gets blamed on teething that’s probably unrelated, you know?

@JennyLayneAZ: nope, no wisdom teeth. so maybe that's my bias. But I read something once that teething could be all just perception - that we think of the tooth as "piercing" or "breaking through" the gum, whereas it could be thought of as just "emerging" or "surfacing". Most of my friends have school-age children and I've mentioned this to them and they say their teeth coming through don't hurt. But obvi, kid teeth could be different than adult teeth.

@DesertDreams88: my daughter just got two new molars in the back (adult teeth, she is 5) and they haven't hurt her at all. She just kept saying there was a bump that felt funny. That girl would have complained if there was a hint of pain!
I think the sensation could be distressing to some babies, maybe? And I'm sure its different for each individual, too. She wasn't particularly bothered by teeth as an infant (my son definitely seemed uncomfortable with specific teeth coming in).

@Silva: & @DesertDreams88: I completely agree, and I've done it myself LOL My toddler has been fussy (basically) all year and I keep waiting for her 2 year molars to come through...they're no where in sight according to her pedi...so obviously she's been fussy because of other things...illness (thanks cold & flu season) and probably just the fact that she's 2 lol

@NorthStar: This conversation is so interesting! I had no idea there was controversy over any method! We’ve used Tylenol before if neeeded. What are those amber bead necklaces?? I’ve seen them and wondered what they do!

Well I’ll be the dissenter and admit to using orajel. I did my own research and the risk is so ridiculously small. It’s been a while since I found this but there’s something like only 20 recorded cases of death from orajel (please don’t quote me on the exact number, my point is that it is very very very low). And it’s not something that can happen to just anyone or any baby - it’s like a predisposed condition.
So with my first who’s now 3.8 I just started by trying a tiny amount (like sesame seed) in the daytime so I could monitor. Only when he was insanely fussy. And fwiw he always instantly calmed down and was happy, so yes, I do believe it hurts. (Adult teeth aren’t breaking through new, “virgin” gums).
Once I felt very comfortable that he was not a baby who would have a reaction, I used it sparingly when needed.

I also feel, logically, that if it was such a high likelihood of death it wouldn’t be on every drug store shelf.

Feel free to flame, but we all make calculated choices every day - I bet more babies die from unsafe cosleeping than orajel.
Not saying it’s not true. Just saying that I think it’s less of an issue than it’s made out to be.

We only gave infant Tylenol for teething, no way are we messing around with those other teething medications. I got a teething necklace for my daughter but she never used it.

So I will say I am not SUPER into essential oils, but after one particular night of screaming every 30 minutes for one of my twins, I tried Copiaba oil (Young Living brand). Just a little drop on my finger and rub it on his gums. I swear it was like magic. I keep a container of it on hand AT ALL TIMES now!

We give Tylenol or motrin if they seem.to have some trouble sleeping. I think it was like 1-2 times ever w dd and so far it's been twice w ds. However I'll readily admit ds is wayyyyy more fussy then dd ever was (on a normal basis). And I remember dd got all of her molars without us even knowing ds only has 6 teeth so far