Volume 35 Number 8

August 2014
www.aapnews.org

Health Alerts
Baby teething gels not recommended
Parents should not use medicated gels to treat
teething pain in young children because the ingredient
lidocaine used in some products can be harmful, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Infants can be harmed if they accidentally have too
much lidocaine or swallow too much of the drug.
Reactions can include seizures, brain injury, heart
problems and death.
The FDA reviewed 22 reports of serious reactions,
including deaths, in infants and young children 5
months to 3.5 years of age who were given oral lidocaine 2% solution for the treatment of mouth pain,
including teething, or who had accidentally swallowed

the solution.
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend putting any prescription or over-the-counter
pain relievers or medications that contain lidocaine
or benzocaine on babies gums. These products are
not useful for teething pain because they wash out of
the babys mouth in minutes.
Instead, caregivers can give their baby a teething
ring that has been chilled in the refrigerator, which
will dull pain. Frozen teething rings are not recommended because they can be too hard on gums. Caregivers also can gently rub or massage the childs gums.
Jennifer Ball

2014 AAP News

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Baby teething gels not recommended

Jennifer Ball
AAP News 2014;35;32
DOI: 10.1542/aapnews.2014358-32

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Baby teething gels not recommended

Jennifer Ball
AAP News 2014;35;32
DOI: 10.1542/aapnews.2014358-32

The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the
World Wide Web at:
http://aapnews.aappublications.org/content/35/8/32.1

AAP News is the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A monthly publication, it has been
published continuously since 1948. AAP News is owned, published, and trademarked by the American
Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, 60007. Copyright
2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. All rights reserved. Print ISSN: 1073-0397.

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