Have you seen a baby at the playground wearing an adorable necklace recently? Turns out its not just fashion. Silicone and amber necklaces for infants are all the rage right now. If you ask the mothers of the children wearing them, they’ll tell you it’s because these necklaces help with the pain of teething. Just like any trend out there, there are critics and fanatics of the trend. Let’s take a look at silicone vs. amber teething necklaces to help you find the product that is best for your family. What are they? No matter the material, a teething necklace is exactly what it sounds like. Small bits of either natural amber stone or silicone beads strung onto a thick cord, designed to be worn around the neck. Babies then gnaw on the small pieces, or in the case of Amber necklaces, just hold them, to help alleviate the pain of teething. One note that we’d like to make right up front, however, is that the necklace should always be worn by the adult. Putting a necklace on a child is a choking hazard, especially if it’s left on while sleeping. That’s why QALO is proud to make necklaces for parents only. Now, on to the comparison! Amber Necklaces: The Basics The necklaces are typically made from Amber. This is fossilized tree resin, and fans say that when held in the hand it can help with drooling and the pain of teething. The thought is that the hard stone releases succinic acid, which is thought to help with inflammation. When your child’s body heat warms the stones, the idea is that the released acid is absorbed into the bloodstream and it will help with the swelling and pain associated with teething. Silicone Necklaces: The Basics QALO is proud to offer a line of baby products, including our silicone teether. Since a baby is more inclined to gnaw on something than to peacefully hold it in their hand, silicone teething items are already ahead of the race. To top it off, our teether comes in bright colors, a variety of shapes, and is able to be customized. Silicone is great because it provides a hard surface to help with teething pain. Baby’s natural instinct is to put the teether on the gums and gnaw. When this pressure is applied, the gums are soothed. Silicone can be smooth or textured, making it easy to find different teething options to suit every baby’s whims. Safety We feel silicone teething necklaces win this comparison. Even if you are watching your child closely and even though amber necklaces are not intended for chewing, chances that your child may place it in their mouth or gnaw off a bead are pretty high. Unlike amber teething necklaces, many silicone teething necklaces are made from one mold. That means that they are less likely to cause a choking hazard if the string breaks. While some of our molds do have small bead styles, larger piece only items are also available. Additionally, since QALO uses only medical grade silicone, your baby’s teething necklace won’t have harmful BPA (found in plastic) or latex, lead, or other harmful chemicals. Ease of Cleaning We have to give this vote to silicone, too. Simply run your QALO silicone teether under warm, soapy water, dry, and hand it right back to the baby. You can even pop it in your dishwasher on the top rack. Amber stones may be more porous, meaning that bacteria could soak into the stones. If you want to buy amber because of the belief that gases can escape, you must accept that other things can soak in, as well. Fashion Choice We will leave this one up to you. Since we recommend having mom or dad wear our silicone teething necklace, we can understand the appeal of wearing a real stone vs. a silicone one. That said, we think you might still find that silicone teething necklaces are quite on trend. They come in a variety of colors, shapes, and designs, meaning that you’re likely to find something that doesn’t look like a baby teething necklace to you at all. Check them out, here.