The six firmness bands, and how to read them

Where the bands come from

Read to the end of any of our product names. Past the words about autism, ADHD and oral motor input there is a bracket, and inside it sits the band: Medium Firm - Normal Chewers. Standard - Moderate Chewer. Xtra Tough. Toughest. XXT.

That is us telling you the durometer band in plain words rather than a number nobody can picture. This site sorts the whole range by it, and puts the hollow tubes at the bottom as a sixth level, because a collapsing wall is softer than any solid piece we make.

Reading the ladder

Soft hollow sits at the bottom. It is less a density than a construction: thin walls that give way completely. Teething gums, babies, and cold out of the freezer.

Medium Firm is the first solid band. It gives under a tooth. This is the quiet chewer, the child who eats a shirt collar during homework rather than destroying pencils.

Standard is the middle and we keep one product in it. Enough resistance to register, not enough to fight back.

Xtra Tough is the workhorse and where most of the range lives. Seven of our nineteen pieces sit here. It covers moderate chewers and a good share of the hard ones.

Toughest is one step above, for a child who has already opened up an Xtra Tough piece. Two products.

XXT is our ceiling and it exists only as a necklace. If a Toughest stick comes apart, this is the last thing we have to offer.

Which band to start with

If nothing has been bought before, start one step below where you think you need to be. A chew that is too hard gets rejected and stays rejected, while a chew that wears out too fast at least proves the child used it.

If something has already been destroyed, go up exactly one band, not two. Jumping from Xtra Tough to XXT also changes the shape, and a necklace is a separate decision with its own rules.

If a therapist has specified a resistance level, follow that instead of anything on this page.

What the band does not tell you

It says nothing about how long a piece will last, because that depends on the child. It says nothing about texture either: a Medium Firm hand held piece and a Toughest one carry the same block and tread pattern.

It also says nothing about safety. A hard chew that has been bitten for six months is more dangerous than a soft one bought last week, because the hard one has had time to split.