Infant Teething: Understanding Symptoms & Choosing the Right Homeopathic Remedy

Teething is one of the first major developmental transitions in a baby’s life but for many families, it brings long nights, high-pitched cries, disrupted feeding, irritability, and distress. While teething is a natural process, each baby expresses discomfort differently.

This is where homeopathy shines: by matching a baby’s exact symptoms, temperament, and modalities to a specific remedy, we can support comfort, calmness, and a smoother teething process.Below is a comprehensive, homeopathic guide to teething remedies.

What Happens During Teething?

Teething typically begins between 4–10 months, though some babies start earlier or later. Common signs include:

• Drooling

• Swollen or red gums

• Chewing on hands or objects

• Irritability or crying

• Poor sleep

• Desire to be held constantly

• Ear pulling or cheek rubbing

• Low fever

• Loose stools (from increased saliva)

  
  

Homeopathy looks beyond the general signs and asks:

How is THIS baby experiencing teething? What makes their symptoms unique?

The Major Homeopathic Teething Remedies

Below are the core remedies that appear repeatedly in homeopathic literature for teething discomfort. Each has a distinct profile.

1. Chamomilla

The #1 remedy for teething babies.

Keynotes:

• Extremely irritable, cannot be pleased

• Wants to be held or carried constantly

• One cheek red, the other pale

• High-pitched, angry cry

• Arching, kicking, rigid body

• Asks for things and throws them away

• Worse at night

• Stool green, offensive (“like chopped spinach”)

  
  

2. Belladonna

For sudden, intense teething symptoms.

Keynotes:

• Sudden onset of pain, fever, or redness

• Hot, flushed face

• Wide, staring eyes

• Throbbing pain

• Baby may scream suddenly or seem frightened

• Hands and feet cold, head hot

3. Calcarea phosphorica

For slow teething or late teething.

Keynotes:

• Delayed tooth eruption

• Thin, delicate babies who grow slowly

• Craves cold milk

• Grumbles or fusses constantly

• Wants to be carried upright

• Restless sleep

4. Pulsatilla

The clingy, weepy teething baby.

Keynotes:

• Wants to be held, rocked, or carried

• Cries easily, very emotional

• Worse in a warm room, better with fresh air

• No two stools alike

• Changeable mood and symptoms

5. Mercurius solubilis

For teething with drooling and gum inflammation.

Keynotes:

• Profuse drooling

• Swollen, tender gums

• Bad breath

• Restlessness at night

• Baby constantly chewing or gnawing

• Saliva may cause rash around mouth

6. Phytolacca

For teething pain radiating to the ears or throat.

Keynotes:

• Baby rubs or pulls ears

• Pain shoots to ears when chewing

• Desire to bite down HARD

• Bluish gums

• Pain temporarily relieved by pressure

7. Coffea cruda

For sleepless babies who are overstimulated.

Keynotes:

• Teething pain feels unbearable

• Baby is TOO alert, excited, wired

• Cannot sleep

• Hypersensitive to noise, touch, light

• Relief from cold applications

8. Ignatia

For teething babies with sudden crying outbursts.

Keynotes:

• Quick, sudden shrieking

• Hiccups, sighing, trembling

• Emotionally sensitive

• Crying stops suddenly, then starts again

• Grief or emotional shock in mothers may reflect in breastfed infants

9. Cina

For teething with extreme irritability and gut-related aggravations.

Keynotes:

• Baby cannot be touched

• Screams when picked up

• Grinding teeth, worms suspected

• Rubbing nose, itching

• Arching backward

10. Magnesia phosphorica

Spasmodic teething pains relieved by warmth.

Keynotes:

• Pain comes in waves

• Baby presses cheek into warm surface

• Warmth and pressure relieve pain

• Cramping, colicky teething pains

11. Sulphur

For teething with rawness, rash, or redness.

Keynotes:

• Red rash on face or diaper area

• Mouth corners cracked

• Baby hot, sweaty, worse at night

• Offensive stool

12. Baryta carbonica

For late teething with developmental delay.

Keynotes:

• Very slow tooth development

• Weak immune system

• Recurrent tonsillitis

• Shy, dependent babies

13. Silicea

For teething with slow, difficult tooth eruption.

Keynotes:

• Takes a long time for teeth to break through

• Baby chilly, sweaty-headed at night

• Delicate constitution

• Frequent infections

14. Kreosotum

For painful, decayed early teeth (“early caries”).

Keynotes:

• Teeth come in decayed or darkened

• Putrid-smelling gums

• Baby screams with teething pain

• Restless, cannot be comforted

15. Aconite

For teething with sudden fear, panic, or high fever.

Keynotes:

• Sudden onset

• Baby terrified, clings to parent

• High fever after exposure to cold wind

• Restless and anxious

16. Hepar sulphuris

For teething with pus, infection, or extreme sensitivity.

Keynotes:

• Very sensitive gums

• Baby screams if gums touched

• Possible abscess

• Irritable, chilly

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT REMEDY

Use the guiding principle:

Match the baby’s unique emotional state + physical symptoms + modalities.

Ask:

• Is the baby angry (Chamomilla) or clingy (Pulsatilla)?

• Hot (Belladonna) or chilly (Silicea, Hepar sulph)?

• Overstimulated (Coffea) or exhausted (Calc phos)?

• Is the pain sudden (Aconite) or slow and chronic (Calc phos)?

• Is drooling the main issue (Mercurius)?

• Does biting hard relieve pain (Phytolacca)?

Each baby teethes in a way that reflects their constitutional type, which is why homeopathy can be profound and individualized.

Teething is a natural stage, but it doesn’t have to be a traumatic one.

Homeopathy offers gentle, individualized support that honors your baby’s unique expression of discomfort.

By observing:

• their temperament

• what soothes them

• what worsens their pain

• and how their body reacts

If you would like help choosing a homeopathic remedy for your infant’s teething process, please reach out https://www.livingwellhomeopathy.com/appointments , livingwellhomeopathy@gmail.com   I am here for you!