TEETHING GELS DON’T WORK WELL AND ARE REMOVED SHELVES

After much deliberation on the subject, a decision has been formally made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to remove products containing lidocaine. Furthermore, it reports that these products containing the substance lidocaine should only be used as a last resort.

The MHRA also recommends that parents should try non-drug options first, such as rubbing their babies gums.

Baby teething gels, such as Bonjela are to be taken off supermarket shelves after health officials concluded there was little evidence to show that they worked.

In this move, products containing lidocaine – a mild anaesthetic, will only be available from behind pharmacy counters. To-date products like Calgel, Bonjela and other lesser-known brands have been readily available from garages, corner shops and supermarkets. According to the mail, this change has been earmarked to be enforced in early 2019.

The investigation by the MHRA came amidst reports from the US that lidocaine is linked with seizures and deaths in infants. The MRHA commented that UK products are much weaker than those in the US so carry much lower risk. The report discovered that in 447 incidents reported over three years 437 of those cases caused ‘minor’ or ‘no’ harm to them, and the other ten were unknown.

The findings support that the risk is extremely low, but it also flagged that there is little to no evidence of benefit to the child from these products. Furthermore, it encourages parents to consider alternative options such as chilled teething rings or chews.

If you are concerned about the best way to help your infant with their teething, then please speak with your dentist. The dentists at Riverside Dental are always happy to help.

If you have not registered your baby with us yet, then please do so so we can help you with their development during the early and vital years. We look forward to seeing you in 2019.

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