Best Amber Teething Necklace For Babies

Commonly known as "teething jewelry," amber has anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties which are helpful in reducing teething pain so no wonder parents and their family or friends are crazy about finding the best amber teething necklace for babies. I’ve checked many reviews online and asked my friends who have kids (yes, all of my friends’ babies wear amber teething necklace, bracelet or anklet) to share their experience with me and now I’m sharing it with you.

I was surprised to see that some people looked for and bought raw unpolished Baltic amber teething necklaces, and then later complained they weren’t as the one on the picture or that the beads weren’t all round – of course they won’t always look as the one on the picture (for example, on Amazon) and of course the beads won’t be round if you buy a natural, genuine Baltic raw amber necklace (considered the best for this purpose). Amber is a fossilized tree resin occurring in a range of different colors: yellow-orange-brown, whitish, pale yellow, brown and almost black are the common colors, and red, green and blue are the uncommon variants. If the beads are not all round, that means that the resin is unpolished and kept in the natural form as much as possible.

Another surprise were comments on the safety of amber teething necklaces, doubts and fears that the child could choke while chewing the beads – it’s highly probable that would be the case if you’d let the child chew the necklace, which is emphasized not to be done by the sellers as the necklaces are made to wear and not chew!!! More about the safety and chewing alternative later in the text.

It is said that natural Baltic amber has unique properties unlike any other amber in the world and this has been confirmed in a research implemented by Robert Koch who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1905. Amber contains succinic acid which was analyzed by Koch who confirmed its positive influence on human body.

Succinic acid is a powerful anti-oxidant that helps fight toxic free radicals and disruptions of the cardiac rhythm, stimulates neural system recovery and helps improving the immune system, compensates for energy drain in the body and brain, boosts concentration and reflexes, reduces stress, treats joint pain and arthritic ailments. This substance (succinic acid) is a medical substance used in contemporary medicine and it’s good for children and adults as well.

Baltic amber contains 3-8% of succinic acid, the highest content of the acid is found in the external layer of the resin (the amber cortex). The warmth from the skin releases the active ingredient in the Baltic amber, succinic acid. Most mainstream doctors will recommend wearing amber teething necklace for babies as a natural analgesic, but some may advise you not to put it on your child because of possible safety issues (and these exist only if you don’t use the necklace the proper way). 90% of parents have reported that the necklace, bracelet or anklet made of amber calms your baby without resorting to drugs and it helps reduce the pain naturally.

Amber serves as an analgesic to alleviate teething pain and assist with the typical side effects such as restlessness, drooling and irritability. You should notice a significant reduction of inflammation (red cheeks) and a stimulation of the thyroid glands (controls drooling). The child should calm easily (although not instantly, the necklace is not a magic wand). A friend of mine said she believed that the necklace helped reducing the teething pain in her twins, but the fuss didn’t completely go away. She also noticed that her daughter’s neurodermatitis symptoms calmed down.

I loved this Amazon review:

"My 3 year old had a bad cough and couldn't fall asleep because she kept coughing. Out of curiosity, I wrapped it around her wrist, within 30 mins, she stopped coughing and slept all night. The baby however, was awake all night since sissy had her necklace. The next morning, my husband - who thinks natural remedies are crazy, told me "you better buy another one fast! Get one for all of us!""

(Danielle Long, Amazon.com)

There were a few bad reviews (1-2-3) on Amazon that surprised me so I wanted to review these from my point of view. First, there were a few complaints that the beads looked like plastic. Explanation: amber is a poor conductor of heat so therefore it always feels warm to the touch and not cold as gemstones. Amber is valued as a gemstone, but it’s resin not a stone (check how you can tell if amber is real further in the text).

Some people said something like: "We put the necklace on our child and nothing happened" or "it served no purpose, our child calmed after a week" – seriously? Once again, amber is not a magic wand. Although some people reported that it helped almost right away, after half an hour or "that same day or night when they put it on," remember that what works for one person doesn’t have work for another, or at least not in the same way. Children's Tylenol or Motrin and other topical teething aids don’t help instantly either.

Another disappointed parent reported that their baby girl wanted to play and shove the whole thing in her mouth – don’t forget that the amber teething necklace can be wrapped around the wrist or ankle - it can be worn as a bracelet or anklet which is recommendable during the night just for safety.

One person was worried about if a child pulled on it, broke it and put the little stones in the mouth which is really not the issue if you purchase the right necklace – buy a teething necklace with little knots between the beads so the baby won’t be able to put little pieces in the mouth and swallow them even if the necklace breaks.

One of the comments I’ve read about purchased amber is that it’s super light so that's how you can tell it's not the real crystal amber. This is wrong, however, amber is supposed to be soft and light because it’s resin and not a gemstone. The common substitutes for real amber are "copal" - incomplete fossilization of sap that looks a lot like amber but is softer and plastic.

Some jewelers may tell the difference, but if you’d like to test the necklace at home yourself, here are some tips:

• use a hot needle to try melting a tiny hole – if it’s melting with resistance and smells like wood, it’s real amber.
• use a drop of fingernail polish remover to see whether it will soften; copal and most plastics will, but not amber.
• if you have a black light use it to see whether it shines with a bluish light – amber does and copal and plastic don’t.

If you want your baby to chew on something (babies seem to like it), I recommend what everyone else would recommend: Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether. No need to review this one here as there are more than 1,500 five-star reviews on Amazon about this cute teether so check what parent have to say about it there.

Final thought

Modern research proves that by wearing Baltic amber, we may protect ourselves against the negative influence of all sorts of electrical devices, such as radios, television sets, computers and mobile phones. Personally, I’m a big fan of amber and have a whole collection of amber jewelry.

The Baltic amber necklace is the best amber teething necklace for babies and it’s great that it can be worn as a bracelet or anklet. Love Danielle Long’s comment above (or her husband’s, to be more precise). According to my own research, amber teething necklaces do work, at least in a great majority of all cases.