Baby Teething Biscuits – Benefits and Recipes

Teething is one of the important milestones associated with the growth of a baby. When a baby starts teething, parents should be glad that their child is moving in the right direction, and a few months down the line, you can introduce solids to him. Generally, teething varies in babies across different months, but taking care of the dental area is extremely important right from the start. Using teething biscuits for a 7-month-old baby to keep the feelings of discomfort in check is a popular way that many parents around the world are adopting. Though feeding teething biscuits is a convenient option, preparing the baby teething biscuits properly and being aware of the risks is also important.

When Should You Give Teething Biscuits to Infants?

Every baby is unique in his own way; some babies may meet their development milestones in time, while others may not. A few babies have been known to begin teething as early as the age of 3 months, while others might take a year for the same. The typical age for teething in babies is between 6 and 8 months old.

In any case, if a baby has just started teething, it is not recommended to introduce teething biscuits immediately. Once the baby is around 10 months old or more and his control over the jaw is better, you can give him hard biscuits that he can gnaw on safely. However, make sure your baby eats a biscuit under your supervision to prevent him from choking.

Benefits of Teething Biscuits for Babies

The reason why teething biscuits are generally recommended for babies over any other alternatives to alleviate the teething sensation is due to the advantages they bring when babies start using them.

• By simply gnawing and attempting to chew on the biscuits that are made from nutritious ingredients, your baby is at a higher chance of receiving certain substances that support his health indirectly. This isn’t possible if you use teething toys or any other options.

• Teething biscuits taste good, which indicates to the child that it is food. Hence, your child will begin learning to handle the biscuits properly in his hand, thus teaching himself the techniques to eat food items or hold the bottle without your support.

• The uncomfortable sensation of teething can be satisfied only when there is a good amount of pressure on the gums. The teething biscuits ensure that this happens in a properly distributed manner, which is also safe and natural for the kid.

Are There Any Risks of Giving Teething Biscuits to a Child?

Parents who are thinking of getting teething biscuits for their babies often wonder if teething biscuits are safe for babies. Well, there are certain risks associated with it, which one definitely needs to be aware of.

• Leaving your child alone with teething biscuits could put him at risk of choking on the biscuits by himself. Letting him do so while lying down further increases the chances that the biscuits will crack into pieces and suffocate him.

• Preparing the biscuits with the right ingredients is necessary. Using inappropriate ingredients could introduce certain substances into your baby’s body, which could make him react adversely to them.

• Opting for teething biscuits that are sweet or make use of sugary substances puts your child at risk of early tooth decay and cavities since he is exposed to sugary items early in life.
• Giving your child store-bought teething biscuits is not safe, as a recent FDA Total Diet Study revealed high levels of lead in teething biscuits. Therefore, only homemade teething biscuits are safe.

Using Teething Biscuits Ingredients That Are Not Recommended for Babies Less Than 6 Months old

While preparing teething biscuits for your child, there are certain ingredients that are not good for babies less than six months old. If you are including them in the preparation, you need to make sure your baby is older than six months and that the child is not allergic to them. These are generally not recommended for babies, and it is better to prepare biscuits without them.

1. Dairy Products

On an extremely generic level, a tiny amount of milk or other products derived from it seem to work for a child when used in a bakery product. However, it is best avoided at all times. Giving your child cow’s milk in any form is ill-advised, especially when the child is less than a year old. At the same time, making sure that lactose intolerance is not a condition your child is suffering from is a necessity as well.

2. Salt

There are specific recipes for preparing teething biscuits for babies that make use of salt as a necessary ingredient. The proportion of it is absolutely minimal, especially in those biscuits that make use of eggs, so as to keep all the ingredients together in a homogenous nature and support the baking. Elsewhere, adding salt to the recipe should be avoided at all costs. Instead, flavour the teething biscuits with

3. Wheat

Generally, most doctors are against the idea of introducing any wheat-based products or items that include gluten in a baby’s diet until he is more than 6 months old. Even that should be undertaken after checking for any previous incidents of gluten-based intolerance in family members. There are numerous recipes for teething biscuits that are wheat-free or make use of alternatives as well.

4. Sugar

The inclusion of sugar in most recipes is common since it is a primary ingredient that provides the structure to the biscuit. If you wish to avoid sugar, then opt for syrup of brown rice, a pinch of jaggery or dates syrup to sweeten the baby biscuits. Stay away from honey at all costs since it is not good for babies under 1 year of age.

5. Eggs

Eggs form a core part of various biscuit recipes. However, there are established links of egg-related allergies in young babies, which may still happen even after subjecting the eggs to different preparation procedures. Certain teething biscuits use baking powder as a substitute for egg, but make sure that the powder itself does not contain egg derivatives.

Which Cooking Oil Should Be Used in Teething Biscuit Recipes?

Since teething biscuits are usually used for babies that are roughly between the ages of 8 months and one year, there are specific cooking oils that ought to be used. The best one is corn oil, which can be used without worry. Using vegetable oil is not a problem as well, but it is generally advised to use fat-based vegetable oil in minimal quantities. When it comes to olive oil, use the extra-virgin variant so that the smell of the oil is kept in control. If the biscuit itself has a strong aroma to it, you can use the traditional one.

Easy Teething Biscuit Recipes

To make it easy to introduce your baby to teething biscuits, here are recipes that are easy to make, safe to use, and quite interesting for your little one as well.

1. Oats Drops

This is one of the best teething biscuits, as it does not contain any wheat or eggs, making it extremely safe for your child.

Ingredients:

• Corn oil
• Vanilla extract
• Mashed bananas
• Baking powder
• Nutmeg
• Cardamom
• Salt
• Ground Oats
• Quick Oats

How to Prepare?

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Now, add these ingredients to the larger bowl containing the dry ones.
3. Once all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, use a spoon to place the exact proportion of the mixture on a baking sheet greased with oil. Keep the shapes small so that they can be easily held by your child but not swallowed.
4. Once placed, put this on a baking tray and set it in the oven. Bake the biscuits at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes or so.

2. Eggless Cereal Cookies 

A nutritious alternative to help your child with a teething problem.

Ingredients:

• Cold ice water
• Cooking oil
• Dry rice cereal with banana mix
• Flour

How to Prepare?

1. Prepare the oven by heating it to 220 degrees.
2. Mix together the cereal along with the flour in a bowl. Add oil to it and stir well. Follow it up with some ice water until the entire mixture begins to roll like a ball.
3. Form cookie shapes with it and place them in the oven to bake for around 10 minutes.

3. Thin Wheat Cookies

As this recipe contains wheat, it is not suitable for babies less than six months of age. Wheat-based cookies are best for babies who are more than 8 months old; these cookies also do not contain eggs.

Ingredients:

• Water
• Oil
• Sugar
• Wheat germ
• Whole wheat flour
• Oatmeal

How to Prepare?

1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients and roll a large portion onto a sheet.
2. Use a cutter to cut out various shapes and place them in a baking tray.
3. Leave them for 15-20 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees.
4. Let it cool, and your biscuits are ready.

4. Nutritious Biscuits

These biscuits make use of egg yolk instead of whites, which is comparatively safe and imparts a great flavour to the biscuits. However, since this is an egg-based recipe, it is best to give it to older babies who are more than 6 months of age and that too, after consulting a doctor.

Ingredients:

• Dry milk
• Wheat germ
• Soy flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Oatmeal
• Oil
• Vanilla
• Egg yolk, beaten

How to Prepare?

1. Mix together all wet ingredients first and then add the dry ingredients to the mixture to make a dough.
2. Roll out the dough and cut it out into the shapes of your choice.
3. Place the cut cookies in a baking tray and let them sit in the oven at 180 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

5. Banana Breadsticks

A small twist on traditional biscuits, with a different shape and a different taste. This recipe also uses wheal flour so check for an allergy before giving it to your baby.

Ingredients:

• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Whole wheat flour
• Mashed bananas
• Eggs
• Oil
• Brown sugar

How to Prepare?

1. Make a smooth batter using all the ingredients and pour it into a pan.
2. Place it in the oven at 180 degrees for an hour or so to bake.
3. Once cooled, cut the portion into sticks and bake them again at 65 degrees for an hour until they are hard.

Homemade baby teething biscuits are always a better choice than any other commercially available teething options. Healthy, homemade products can be beneficial for your baby’s development. Making use of teething biscuits with timely supervision can relieve him of the teething discomfort and introduce him to the world of various tastes and flavours, too.

References/Resources:

1. Arsenic in baby food is all too common, but there is a solution; PIRG; https://pirg.org/articles/arsenic-in-baby-food-is-all-too-common-but-there-is-a-solution/; September 2022

2. FDA Total Diet Study (TDS): FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Report; FDA; https://www.fda.gov/media/159745/download?attachment; July 2022

3. Teething; MedlinePlus; https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002045.htm

4. Teething Tots; Nemours KidsHealth; https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/teething.html

5. Baby teething symptoms; NHS; https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/babys-development/teething/baby-teething-symptoms/

Also Read:

Late Teething in Infants
Common Baby Teething Symptoms
Effective Baby Teething Remedies