Teething relief products include a couple of categories with real, documented safety warnings behind them — worth knowing specifically, not just "be careful with small parts" in general terms.
Teething jewelry: avoid it entirely, regardless of material
The FDA has issued an explicit warning against teething necklaces, bracelets, and similar jewelry — made of amber, silicone, wood, or marble — citing real reports of infant deaths and serious injuries from both strangulation and choking. Beads can break off and be swallowed or choked on, and the necklace or bracelet itself is a genuine strangulation risk if worn unsupervised or during sleep, including a documented case of an 18-month-old who died this way. There's also no credible scientific evidence that amber or similar jewelry actually relieves teething pain in the first place — the claimed benefit isn't supported, and the risk is real and documented. This applies across materials; silicone or wood teething jewelry isn't a safer alternative to amber, since the strangulation and choking risks come from the jewelry format itself, not the specific material.
Liquid- and gel-filled teethers carry a contamination risk
The FDA has specifically flagged liquid- or gel-filled teethers for the risk of bacterial contamination and chemical leaching if the internal seal ever breaks or develops a crack — a real, structural risk with a filled design, not just a hypothetical one. A solid rubber or silicone teether, without an internal liquid or gel fill, avoids this specific failure mode entirely.
Chilled, not frozen
A teether can be refrigerated to add a soothing cool sensation, but shouldn't be frozen solid — a fully frozen, rock-hard teether can bruise or otherwise damage a baby's delicate gum tissue on contact, which defeats the purpose of something meant to soothe sore gums.
What pediatric guidance actually recommends instead
Simple approaches are generally endorsed as effective and low-risk: gently massaging a baby's gums with a clean finger, or offering a solid rubber or silicone teething ring that's been chilled but not frozen. These simple, low-tech options avoid every one of the risks above while still addressing the actual discomfort teething causes.
The one thing people forget
Inspect teethers regularly and replace them at the first sign of cracks, peeling, soft spots, or torn seams — even small damage can harbor bacteria or, for liquid-filled designs, indicate the seal has failed. A teether that looked fine last week isn't guaranteed to still be intact this week, especially with the kind of repeated biting and chewing it's specifically designed to withstand.