In Depth Baby Product Reviews Led by a Pediatrician
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We tested teething toys from Comotomo, Mombella, Nuby, and more to find the best
Credit: Abriah Wofford
By Molly Bradac ⋅ Senior Research Analyst ⋅ May 30, 2024
The Best Teething Toys for 2024
Are teething woes getting the best of your baby? Our review ranks today's top 8 teething toys that can help soothe your baby's discomfort. After extensively researching the market, we selected and purchased our lineup of contenders for testing, even enlisting some help from teething little testers eager to gum and chew. With teething toys varying in design, material, and ease of cleaning, we kept these factors in mind while evaluating and comparing the bunch. Let our recommendations help guide you to the best teething toy for your little one.
As little ones grow and change, they begin teething, and little tooth buds erupt. Oral hygiene starts early, and pediatric dentists recommend brushing gums early on with brushes like those found in our best baby toothbrush review to avoid dental caries (cavities) and to aid in long-term oral hygiene. We've also tested the top-ranking kids' toothpaste and the best kids' electric toothbrushes.
Editor's Note: We updated this review on May 30, 2024, ensuring that the selection and award winners are still available.
Does your baby gnaw on their fingers for teething relief? If so, the Comotomo Silicone Teether may be a fitting solution. The design of this silicone teether was born from the inspiration of little fingers, and it offers a chewy material for babies to munch and chomp. The angled finger-like prongs are just the right size to reach several areas in your baby's mouth, including back molars, helping to massage and soothe sensitive gums from erupting teeth. It is super easy for tiny hands to grip and maneuver, and we appreciate its one-piece construction, making it easy to clean.
We prefer teethers made from silicone. With that in mind, this material can easily attract lint and hair, which we experienced during testing. Therefore, before giving this teething toy to your baby, we recommend cleaning and inspecting it for fibers. If you're worried about a dirty teether, the Mombella Elephant Teether includes a removable leash to keep it off the floor. We think highly of the Comotomo and recommend it for babies who want to soothe sore gums in the front and back or for babies who tend to chew their fists or fingers for relief. We are sure those cute little fingers could use a break!
Besides being a handy teether that babies enjoy, the Mombella Elephant Teether comes with a removable leash to clip onto clothing, preventing it from falling onto a germy floor. This bonus accessory is one we appreciate, especially for babies who have yet to master the skill of holding objects. The teether's design is easy for little hands to hold and maneuver, and it fits comfortably inside a baby's mouth to soothe gums. The textured tip is an ideal length for reaching teething aches and pains in the front and back, and the circular disc keeps babies' from putting the teether too far inside their mouth. Plus, the elephant's legs are additional biting points.
We noticed that tiny fibers could cling to the silicone. But, we consider this drawback minimal, given the material's health benefits. Cleaning the teether before and after each use can help reduce particles. Plus, it's a hygiene habit we encourage in general. Overall, we think this teether with leash accessory is a winner, and we recommend it to family and friends with teething babies. Another option that includes a clip is the Mombell Mushroom Teether. It's good for little hands and has a comparable price.
Each product in our review was purchased and hands-on tested.
The Baby Banana Infant Toothbrush is a toothbrush-teether combo with thick, nub-like bristles than a traditional toothbrush. The “peel” handles are easy for little hands to grasp, and the silicone texture invites babies to chew. In fact, from our experience, most babies accept this teether and gnaw on it. It is also free of BPA, latex, and phthalates.
While testing, we noticed that the slick silicone surface attracts dust and hair; even the bristles can trap hair. Therefore, we suggest inspecting the teether before giving it to your baby. If you're looking for a bristle-free option that's easy to clean, the Mombella Elephant Teether is a great pick. If you like the idea of a toothbrush-teether combo, perhaps to introduce the concept and sensation of brushing while your little one bites for teething relief, we think the baby banana is fitting.
The Baby Banana Infant Toothbrush is a teether style toothbrush. However, it may not be your primary toothbrush, but it works as a tool for teaching children the brushing concept and sensation.
The Ashtonbee Baby Fruit Feeder is an innovative alternative to traditional teethers, providing teething relief and a dose of flavor for babies old enough to enjoy solids. This product holds fresh or frozen food for a baby to gnaw, and the nipple allows the tiniest of food pieces to pass through. One package includes a set of two feeders plus four silicone nipples ranging from small to large. We also appreciate the silicone nipple design, as it is easier to clean than feeders with a mesh bag.
Some users mention that some foods, particularly orange ones like carrots, sweet potatoes, etc., may discolor the silicone nipple. However, do not fret; discoloration doesn't harm the teether's performance. If your baby is ready or already eating solid foods, or perhaps they have lost interest in other teething toys, we recommend this product. We are confident this feeder will be fun and exciting for your little one to explore, plus satisfy their desire to chew for teething comfort. Still, you may also want a teether that is not so food-focused. In that case, the Comotomo Silicone Teether can provide relief and is easier to clean.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Important: Before each use, we urge parents to inspect their baby's teether for damage and replace it if it shows signs of cracks or chipping.
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To keep baby interested and distracted from teething pain, a teether with multiple textures or various biting points that are easily reachable can be helpful.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
How We Test Baby Teethers
BabyGearLab has been testing gear over the past decade. Each product we review is purchased and extensively hands-on tested, allowing us to determine the best in the category. We also enlisted the help of some adorable teething babies and tots, providing feedback by simply gumming and chewing the teething toys.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Why Trust GearLab
Leading our review is Senior Review Editor, Molly Bradac, and Nanny with over 15 years of experience. Over the years, she's cared for several teething babies and knows the ins and outs of teething symptoms and remedies to help alleviate teething discomfort, including teething toys.
The Baby Elefun Teether has multiple textured biting points, and easy for baby to hold thanks to its hollow handle.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Analysis and Test Results
Each product in our review experienced lots of gumming, chewing, and drool for our experts to compare performance and rank competition.
What's the Best Value?
Except for a few options, most of the teethers in our review share a similar price point, challenging our quest to identify which contender offers top quality and value. Ultimately, we decided that the Mombella Elephant Teether stands out. It ranks high among the competition and includes an additional accessory, a leash, that clips onto clothing. The Nuby Teethe-eez Teether has a slightly lower cost than other options, but we think its design keeps teething babies wanting, and it can be a hassle to keep clean (yes, those bristles are a fiber magnet!). Our lineup has other options with designs that we think better soothe teething discomfort for an additional dollar or so. But, if you don't mind a little upfront cost, the Ashtonbee Baby Fruit Feeder is another option that offers good value. This multipurpose contender is worth the expense as it includes two feeders with different-sized nipples.
The Comotomo Silicone Teether is easy for baby to hold and offers four angled finger-like prongs to reach sore gums in the front and back.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Design
This metric was evaluated based on various factors, such as the type of material, durability, size, texture, and accessibility of biting points.
We prefer silicone options over plastic since teething toys will be babies' mouths a lot. Most of the products in our review use food-grade silicone, like the Comotomo Silicone Teether, Mombella Elephant Teether, and the Baby Elefun Teether, to name a few. Silicone is considered a healthier option than plastic, allowing babies to manipulate the toy to reach various areas around their mouth. It also has a high tolerance to heat, whereas plastic can't endure high temperatures or melt. Plus, we don't advise heating plastic due to the potential of chemicals leaching. The downside of silicone is that it easily attracts hair and lint, which is not ideal. But, we believe the upside of silicone outweighs this flaw.
The Manhattan Toy Winkel is a maze of multiple soft and smooth loops for baby to bite and chew, plus it has a rattle for an extra sensory experience.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
One product in our lineup that is solely plastic is the Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Teether, and the Ashtonbee Baby Fruit Feeder uses a hybrid of silicone and plastic. With the Ashtonbee, babies gnaw on the silicone nipple, and flavor will likely incentivize, but some may find their way to the plastic handle. We don't consider the plastic on this option a deal-breaker, but it is a detail to consider if you prefer to avoid plastic at all costs.
The Mombella Mushroom Teether is super soft and pliable, plus breast-like in design.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Regarding durability, we recognize that any teether will struggle to stand up to repetitive chewing, especially once sharp baby teeth erupt. Therefore, it is crucial to closely monitor any teether, inspecting and discarding it if any damage shows. With that said, we did lineup the contenders side-by-side to assess the level of durability. Compared to other contenders, we noticed that the Mombella Mushroom Teether has a thinner silicone dome; logically speaking, we wonder about the potential for rips and tears over time versus thicker options.
Each product offers a variety of textured surfaces, or none at all, like the Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Teether.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
We applaud contenders with a mixture of textures and easy access to biting points that can help babies massage tender gums, and it will keep them interested and distracted from teething pain. The Mombella Elephant Teether and the Baby Elefun Teether have some of the most prominent textures and varieties.
The Mombella Elephant Teether is a tester favorite. It is easy for baby to hold and maneuver, plus it comes with a removable leash.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Use
A product needs to be easy for babies to use; therefore, we dove into this metric with two guiding questions. One, is it easy for babies to hold? Two, does it get the job done?
The Comotomo Silicone Teether and the Mombella Elephant Teether are standout products in this metric with biting points that are easy to access, and babies seem to know how to manage these products intuitively. One product that doesn't score well in this metric is the Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Teether. The loops provide enough space for babies to hold, but our testers did not use this product like other teethers in our review. Therefore, we would argue that it appears more like a toy than a teether.
It may take some trial and error to figure out what works best for your baby. We suggest purchasing a few options to try. Plus, it doesn't hurt to keep an extra in the diaper bag for adventures on-the-go.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Cleaning
It is vital to keep all teethers clean because mold loves wet environments; therefore, it is recommended that you wash the teether before and after each use, plus allow it to air dry thoroughly. To make the cleaning task more manageable and less of a hassle, we value products of one-piece construction with minimal or no nooks and crannies for fibers or saliva (yes, teething may cause lots of drool) to collect or become trapped. We also credited products with materials designed to endure the high sterilization heat.
Most of the contenders in our review are of one-piece construction and silicone, such as the Comotomo Silicone Teether, Mombella Elephant Teether, and Baby Elefun Teether. They are quick to wash, easy to inspect for hair and lint, and have no significant nooks or crannies.
The Baby Banana Infant Toothbrush is easy for little hands to hold thanks to its "peel" handles, and the toothbrush-like head is inviting for babies to gnaw for teething relief.
It may take a few attempts before your baby learns how to hold and use the teething toy, but never force it.
From our experience, the Nuby Teethe-eez Teether has multiple tiny bristles that can trap fibers, particularly if they fall onto the floor or travel around in the diaper bag without its carry case. Thankfully, this purchase includes a carry case (a bonus accessory that we appreciate!), but it's an extra precaution you'll need to take. A similar yet mild problem can occur with the Baby Banana Infant Toothbrush. This product has fewer bristles than the Nuby, but fibers seem to collect, and this purchase doesn't include a carry case. Nonetheless, we noticed that these products required more effort and attention before handing them to our tester baby.
The Ashtonbee Baby Fruit Feeder is innovative product. Load it with food, fresh or frozen, and let baby chomp away.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The Ashtonbee Baby Fruit Feeder will require more effort to clean than teethers of one-piece construction. But remember that this product's design tackles teething discomfort by offering solid food (even cold options) for your baby to munch on. Therefore, we cannot judge it using the same reasoning. Fortunately, it has silicone nipples that simplify the cleaning task and can be sterilized.
Among the options, we did not enjoy cleaning the Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Teether. Therefore, it has one of the lowest scores in this metric, mainly because its material is surface wash only, and with multiple parts, it requires more effort to clean and inspect than one-piece construction contenders.
Tip
Babies may drool more while teething because irritated gums can stimulate saliva production. Use a baby bib to catch mess or absorb that extra drool before it soaks into your baby's clothing.
The Baby Banana Infant Toothbrush is durable, easy to hold, and well-liked among young testers.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Conclusion
Teething can be troublesome for babies, and we fully understand. Emerging teeth can pressure a baby's gums, making them sensitive, tender, and swollen (ouch!). Thankfully, a teething toy can be the perfect solution and distraction to help your baby cope with teething aches and pains. We are confident that the information and recommendations in our review will help your decision-making.
