Amber Teething Necklaces

“Do those teething necklaces made out of amber beads really work for teething pain? This just seems so weird to me.”

Weird or not, those strings of beads have become a popular home remedy for teething pain in toddlers and infants. How well do they work? Well, let’s find out.

What Amber Teething Necklaces Really Are

Amber teething beads are small beads made from a resin known popularly as “amber”. You’ve seen amber at craft fairs and farmers’ markets in the form of handmade jewelry. You may have also seen it made into paperweights or other desk items sold in gift shops—often with insects trapped inside.

Contrary to what you might see on the various parenting and natural living boards around the ‘net, these necklaces cannot be legally sold either as medical devices or as toys here in the U.S. and do not meet the standards set forth in the European standard EN 71-1. In fact, in 2007, Green Baby recalled their entire inventory after at least one “reported incident”.

What They’re Supposed to Do For You

Just as we expected, the various explainations for how amber relieves teething pain vary widely. Some of the most common explainations we found include:

• They act as a “bio-transmitter comparable to aromatherapy and homeopathy”.
  
• Friction with cloth creates “static electricity” and “electro-negative” charges.
  
• The warmth of the body releases “miniscule amounts of healing oils” which are then absorbed.
  
• Amber is “electromagnetically alive” with “organic energy”.
  
• Succinic acid is released from the amber when the beads are chewed.

And, of course, there’s a raging debate over whether the necklaces should simply be worn on the skin or whether children should be allowed to chew on them.

Is There Any Science To Back Up These Claims?

Although we could find dozens of web sites hawking everything from beaded necklaces to amber pacifiers, we could find absolutely no science to back up those claims. Given that these beads have supposedly been a “common remedy” for centuries—and how large the baby products market is—surely someone should have been able to prove them scientifically.

One thing that is proven is that amber is a source of succinic acid. In fact, at one time, amber was actually distilled to produce an anti-inflammatory remedy known as “spirit of amber”. Succinic acid is also a byproduct of sugar fermentation and is found in beer and other fermented foods.

Lisa’s Opinion

I could not imagine putting a necklace of any kind on an infant. Not all parents leave these on 24 hours a day but on every parenting forum we visited in preparation for this article, we found plenty of parents who left them on their babies even when the babies were asleep. With all the precautions we take to avoid choking and strangulation deaths in our children and grandchildren, products like these amber beads seem like a huge step backward.

I’m also far from convinced by the “science”. The idea that you can absorb succinic acid by sucking on a piece of amber just seems ridiculous to me. And if you could, wouldn’t eating or drinking foods in which succininc acid forms naturally—like wine and beer—do just as much for pain? Yet no one is suggesting that beer drinkers have less pain than their abstaining counterparts.

Ultimately, amber teething beads are not a product I would recommend. There’s no science behind it and the potential dangers far outweigh any benefits, in my opinion. But, of course, only your child’s peditrician should be giving you medical advice about your child. If I were a young parent with a teething baby, I’d skip those online chat rooms and ask the only person qualified to give medical advice—a licensed healthcare provider.

Sources:

ambernz.co.nz. (Unknown). Retrieved from www.ambernz.co.nz/facts.htm on May 20, 2008.

Bishop, K. (2006). Amber Teething Necklaces How Do They Work? Retrieved from searchwarp.com/swa84799.htm on May 20, 2008.

RAPEX. (2007). Weekly Overview Report of RAPEX Notifications. Retrieved from ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/create_rapex.cfm?rx_id=157 on May 20, 2008.

Comments

[Heather]

First, I wonder how you can review a product you've never even tried. Just b/c these necklaces don't come with an Rx label slaped on them, and the beads counted by a pharmacist doesn't mean they are unsafe or unaffective.

And I did talk with my pediatrician about it. She had no concerns about my child wearing the necklace, it isn't long enough that he can chew on it (and most of them aren't), and she was also very interested in perusing her own information about baltic amber in general.

To be counted as having done your research, then maybe you should have done more than simply googled a few amber websites and actually tried it out for yourself.

[MKA]

First of all, scientific studies (and therefore scientific evidence, as you are seeking) are expensive. Who would pay for an expensive scientific study on baltic amber teething necklaces? The small work at home mom businesses that make most of them? Pharmaceutical companies? I'm sure those small work at home mom businesses can't afford something of that magnitude, and I'm sure pharmaceutical companies have no interest in it, so then a third party? Like who? Do you want to know why my baby is wearing a baltic amber teething necklace right now? Because of word of mouth. Many many other moms and dads have told me how much they helped their babies when the were teething, and that, to me, is better than a big fancy scientific study

[Lisa Barger]

No one is asking a "mom" who makes a few dozen necklaces a year to fund a medical study and I think my readers understand that but if a kid can create a meth-testing kit for his high-school science fair couldn't someone out there fund a study on a product that gains nearly 500,000 new potential customers EVERY DAY?

Thanks for commenting but there is just no way I can possibly advocate putting a necklace on an infant and I especially can't do it when there is zero scientific evidence for it and proven non-drug alternatives to it.

[Peter]

There is a reason that these items are not approved by the FDA and why they are not marketed and produced by the large drug companies. It's because they don't work.

And while I don't think the big drug companies are the most ethical businesses in the world, I will not give my baby (or myself) remedies that could do more harm than good. I'm saying saying you shouldn't use natural remedies, I'm just saying, use the ones that are known to work.

The reason many people claim they work is perception and anecdotal evidence. There are NO proper controlled studies showing any benefits. Until we have proper peer reviewed trials, all we have is superstition. You may as well go to a Zulu witch doctor or a Sioux medicine man.

"But it worked for my baby!" This is usually what is called regression to the mean. In plain english, most people only use drugs or remedies when the condition has got too bad to be endured on it's own. The condition is also then at it's worst and will improve naturally. The time you resort to treatment is at the top of the bell curve. But the perception is that you used the remedy and you felt better afterwards. Unfortunately this is not necessarily causal, it's merely coincidental.

Lisa, I've just happened upon your site, and so far I am impressed with what I see. Maybe you could do a piece on how important proper studies are? And explain a little about blinding and randomisation techniques.

[Lisa Barger]

Thank you, Peter. We welcome comments from all our readers, of course, but we especially appreciate those that help make the science behind some of these products a little easier to understand. Your post has done that brilliantly.

[Alessandro]

Thank you Lisa for this interesting post (and Peter's follow up). I was googling around to find out whether amber necklaces are useful and safe, and I came to the same conclusions.
A lot of bla bla bla and advertisements, but no proofs or even scientifically sound explanations!

[Justin]

Thank you sooo much for this information. I wanted a real, unbiased opinion with some real background. I searched and searched until I finally found you as a source on wikipedia. I am tagging your site on google so hopefully other who are searching as well will have more success in finding an unbiased, professional opinion!

[GL]

I was researching amber for my son when I came across this post. All in all, I didn't find enough scientific support to merit using one, let alone the issue of putting a necklace around my infant's throat...

I am a little concerned about the " word of mouth" comment, as it seems to me to be synonymous with "trend." Sadly, most responses to the question on other sites as to whether the necklaces work include a comment of how "cute" they look. Whether or not they work seems to be irrelevant to many users. Basically, I think it is just the hip thing to do and folks are making money off it.

[KJ]

Hi,
maybe I'm nuts, but having looked them up I'm trying one. My daughter started teething at 4months and seems to constantly be getting teeth - usually 2 at a time.
While I'm not yet sure of whether this is making a difference or not (she's just recovering from a throat infection), to me I'd like to try an alternative to dosing with teething powders / paracetamol the whole time...
thanks for an objective look though, it was refreshing to come across this after all the "it really works!"

As for the "trend" theory, after I got mine, a friend's mom told me she had them for her kids years ago, and told her daughter to get one, but my friend's baby was a really easy teether anyway, so she didn't feel any need...

so maybe it is the hip/in/trendy thing to do, but seems it's not the first time it's been so...

[Amy T.]

I just want to point out a couple things that have nothing to do with whether or not the necklaces actually work. These are simply errors in your understanding of how the necklace is to be used and I would like to clarify for future readers.

1) The baby/toddler is NOT supposed to chew on the necklace. Necklaces are supposed to be short enough so that the baby cannot get the necklace into his or her mouth.
2) Babies are NOT supposed to sleep with these on their necks. They are supposed to be worn 24 hours a day and at night you simply remove the necklace from baby's neck, put it around the ankle with a sock over it to secure it.

Another thing that I'd like to point out is that even though there is not any scientific research yet as to whether these necklaces do what they claim to that does not disprove them. I too would like to see some research behind the claims. (I found your article in my search to see if there was any published research on the web.) However, you write the article as if to say that because no one has funded research that automatically renders the claims false.

[Lisa Barger]

Thank you for writing, Amy. While the parents in your circle may not be allowing infants to chew or suck on their amber there are still parents who do. Maybe they're not *supposed* to, but they are. (This website may have a dubious grasp of grammar but it specifically instructs parents to allow kids to chew amber.)

Also, if wearing on the skin is all that's required why not just skip the necklace and make an anklet? If they're equally effective why even take the risk of strangulation?

Finally, yes, you're absolutely right when you say that a lack of science does not make amber teething necklaces scams or frauds. And to that I would say: Do you really think it's ethical to suggest people spend 20 bucks (the cheapest amber teething necklaces we could find) on a completely unproven remedy when all you can really offer them is a 'it worked for me'?

[Stephanie]

I'm a nuclear engineer by trade, science and logic are fundamental to my operating procedures. However, I know for a fact that science cannot prove everything correct or otherwise. I also know thathomeopathic and naturopathic medicines work, from experience. That being said, not every combination works for every person. This fact must be taken into account when trying to asses the validity of any treatment. Many western medicines have pretty horrible side effects, yet we are willing to pay a pretty penny for them. Many of them also don't work the way they claim they will. They call it "practicing " medicine for a reason, even doctors whom you purport to be the only qualified person to give medical advice don't have all the answers. Traditional medicines are past down through word of mouth and apprentice teaching, that doesn't make them less effective. As far as the choking hazard goes; I don't think it's a serious risk. Each bead is individually knotted, and the necklace short enough to keep out of the mouth. They are worn around the neck during the day because the best healing benefit comes from being closest to the source of pain, and around the able at night to keep them body temperature. You are right when you say that done parents let their children wear them to bed, some parents let their kids ride bikes without helmets too. Should we outlaw bikes? I thought that being a patent meant *gasp* you were an adult and therefore responsible for your decisions. This is something to think about on your half, since you really don't have experience, just an opinion. Besides even if it really is only a placebo effect, who cares if it cost 20 bucks, I seriously doubt the mom who is finally getting a break cares. 20 dollars is nothing compared to finally getting a nights rest. Just because you cannot reconcile a thought with your own belief system doesn't make it wrong. And, just because parents make decisions that may not be correct doesn't mean we make them for them, or that we take away the rights of others. This is America....or at least where I live it is!

[Stephanie]

I apologize for the spelling mistakes on the above post, as I submitted it using a smart phone.

[Amber teething necklaces are hooey on a string.]

Anytime somebody starts off with I'm a (insert fancy-schmancy job title) you know it's gonna' be a long one. ::winks::