Review of Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets

Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets

I always heard about Hyland's Baby teething tablets from other moms but never thought into them much. After all, when Sam got his first two teeth on the bottom, I barely knew about it. The only reason I suspected teeth was because I felt something sharp when he was breastfeeding. But seriously, I never saw any of the classic teething symptoms (e.g. ear-pulling, crying in pain, biting everything in site, drooling, etc.). So I figured that Sam must be one of those babies who breeze right through the teething stage without shedding a tear. I purchased a bottle of these tablets just in case, but never used them.

I was wrong in my assumption, though. When his top teeth were emerging (a few months later), boy did we see all those teething signs! After a few days of watching Sam suffer I bought these tablets. I can't say they made a 360-degree difference, but it definitely helped.

On their site, Hyland's Baby states this product's indication:

"Temporarily relieves the symptoms of simple restlessness and wakeful irritability due to cutting teeth. Helps reduce redness and teething discomfort."

I bolded the terms that I'd like to mention. Most teething products just anesthetize the area to a degree. They don't do much else. Once the baby licks off the gel or whatever, it ceases to be effective. This homeopathic product, however, works on the symptom level. It calms your baby. It helps your baby sleep better (in fact, it can even induce sleepiness because the baby's pain finally subsides), and it generally makes the kid feel better. Hyland's Baby teething tablets contain:

Calcarea Phosphorica (a mineral) that supports dentition (teething)
Chamomilla (a botanical) relieves the symptoms of irritability
Coffea Cruda (a botanical) relieves the symptoms of sleeplessness
Belladonna (a botanical) relieves the symptoms of redness and inflammation of the gums

Here's how we use them: I shake 3 tablets out onto my palm. Sam loves to pick them up and pop them into his mouth by himself. In fact, I think that excitement alone can take his mind off the pain even for a little bit! They dissolve within a second or two because of contact with liquid, in this case saliva. They taste slightly sweet, which babies enjoy. That's how easy it is to administer! You can repeat this dosage 4 times a day (or 2 tablets every hour for 6 hours).

He doesn't become calm instantaneously, but pretty soon he mellows out a bit. I usually find mornings after breakfast a challenging time with the teething pain so after giving these, he starts rubbing his eyes, looking all tired. And then he naps. It helps him sleep better - he doesn't wake up crying from pain.

On exceptionally painful occasions, I would give Sam a dose of Advil (ibuprofen) to generally ease the symptoms, and follow up with the Hyland's Baby teething tablets as needed.

In conclusion, the downside is that these can be pretty costly (about $7), but they do last a while so maybe that's justified. They taste good and they melt fast. No messy gel application to gums. As if your baby would let you put your fingers into his mouth! I know Sam wouldn't. These are easy to self-serve for him so it works out great. They work quickly but don't offer immense relief (nothing does), yet it's a good combination with a pain reliever medication like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. By the way, an empty bottle of the tablets works great as a teething surface ;)

2/26/15 note: I have come to realize that not all teething is equal. Molars, for example, have got 4 prongs that have to emerge through the gum, but a canine/cuspid is much smaller and only has one little "poke". That's why when Sam got his four "first molars", it was a long-drawn out cranky experience. For about 4 months, Sam had very many miserable times related to teething. This month, in contrast, he got 4 canines/cuspids which barely bothered him. Here the tablets worked very well alone, but with the molars we had to double up with the painkillers.