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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Natural Remedies / Natural Alternative to Toxic Baby Teething Gels

Natural Alternative to Toxic Baby Teething Gels

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Non-Medicated Teething Gels Are Toxic
  • Other Teething Remedies
  • Homeopathy for Teething

Affordable, fast, safe teething remedy to try as an alternative to toxic “drug-free” baby teething gels available over-the-counter.

mother holding happy, pain-free teething baby

When my kids were babies, teething gels contained the chemical benzocaine as the active ingredient.

The FDA has issued repeated warnings about benzocaine over the years, finally taking action in 2018 to remove it from the market in products like Anbesol and Baby Orajel. (1)

Under certain conditions, benzocaine can trigger a rare and sometimes fatal blood condition called methemoglobinemia which causes dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood with resulting symptoms of ashen, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips and fingernail beds, shortness of breath, headache, light-headedness and rapid heart rate possible.

The scary symptoms triggered by benzocaine in baby teething gels can occur within minutes or even hours. Methemoglobinemia can occur the first time the product is used or much later after several uses even when the child appeared fine previously.

Non-Medicated Teething Gels Are Toxic

Unfortunately, the benzocaine-free teething gels that are newer on the market are not much better!

They are still highly toxic with numerous undesirable and dangerous ingredients.

Check out the label below for the popular brand Orajel’s Daytime and Nighttime baby teething gels.

I mean, SERIOUSLY?

Starting with a sketchy first ingredient…chlorinated and likely fluoridated tap water…barely a single thing in this list is safe, especially for a baby who has no developed blood-brain barrier protection yet.

From the carcinogenic saccharin sweetener to propylene glycol (edible antifreeze which causes loose bowels already a problem for a teething baby), GMO citric acid, and artificial flavor….this stuff is a nightmare!

Other Teething Remedies

While a chilled teething ring as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics may seem safer, I personally didn’t want my children chomping on plastic.

Chewing on a synthetic substance might introduce another chemical danger to their vulnerable little bodies.

Swapping one chemical cocktail (teething gels) for another (plastic) doesn’t seem like a good idea at least to me.

I never tried an amber necklace, as they seemed to be a possible choking or strangulation hazard. The FDA issued a formal warning about them in 2018. (2)

Massaging the gums does help but is not always practical.

For example, if you are trying to get baby to sleep and she won’t lie still due to teething discomfort, this approach is probably not going to work!

Homeopathy for Teething

In cases where you need help with teething pain right away, I suggest trying these homeopathic baby oral relief tablets.

The tiny white pills that dissolve under the tongue are sweetened with lactose, a natural sugar abundant in breastmilk.

No white sugar or artificial anything is added.

Since they dissolve with no chewing, even babies with no teeth can easily take them.

As a bonus, homeopathic teething pills are quite inexpensive like many homeopathic remedies I’ve used.

I can’t tell you how many times I had a crying, fussy child in discomfort from teething pain who calmed down and went to sleep within minutes of having a couple of these tiny homeopathic pills placed under the tongue!

My husband and I used to call this homeopathic teething remedy “magic pills” because of how amazingly fast and effective they were with all three of our children.

For any homeopathy doubters out there, the effect is not a placebo effect either. A baby who is still nonverbal wouldn’t even know what this meant anyway.

My suggestion is to skip the dangerous, over-the-counter gels and other teething remedies containing toxic chemicals to soothe your irritable child.

Give homeopathy a try! Hopefully, you will be as delighted as we were with the nontoxic, effective results!

It’s certainly worth a shot given how affordable they are and no doctor visit is required to obtain them!

References

(1) FDA Takes Action on Benzocaine teething products

(2) FDA warns about safety risks of teething necklaces, bracelets to relieve teething pain or to provide sensory stimulation

More Information

How I Healed My Child’s Cavity

Toddler’s Severe Tooth Decay Halted in 5 Days

Whiten Your Teeth Without Dangerous Chemicals

Resolving Periodontal Problems with Bone Broth

Coconut Oil Stops Strep Bacteria from Damaging Tooth Enamel

What is the True Cause of Crooked Teeth?

10 Signs Your Dentist Is Truly Holistic

Avoiding Root Canals with Diet Alone

Could the Cause of Your Illness Be Right Under Your Nose?

Most Wisdom Tooth Extractions Totally Unnecessary

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Category: Healthy Pregnancy, Baby & Child, Natural Remedies, Oral Health
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (74)

  1. Sarah Lenard Lancaster via Facebook

    May 16, 2014 at 9:41 am

    Hylands is great, but an amber necklace is the absolute BEST for pain relief. My 6yo was up crying at night when her molars were coming in (the baby was teething, too). I got them both amber. The baby slept by the second night, and my older daughter said her pain was completely gone.

    Reply
  2. Jennifer Love via Facebook

    May 16, 2014 at 4:56 am

    I use Hylands, they’re great for teething and colds.

    Reply
  3. Cassie Haga Meadows via Facebook

    May 16, 2014 at 1:41 am

    I’ve used both baby oragel and these teething tablets on all 3 of my kids. I’m a nurse and had no idea about the danger of benzocaine.

    Reply
  4. Michelle Karwatt Anstadt via Facebook

    May 15, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    My daughter has used these with all her babies and is expecting baby #6 in aug, they really do help!

    Reply
  5. Heather Felice Walker via Facebook

    May 15, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    We love Hylands! I have recommended them for years!

    Reply
  6. Jamie Lynn via Facebook

    May 15, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    I used Hylands teething tabs for my baby. In fact, I use Hylands vitamin c tablets and tiny cold tablets as well. Its a great brand!

    Reply
  7. Sunny L. Klang via Facebook

    May 15, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    I used Hyland’s products with my two girls. We are now using them for my grand baby. Hyland’Are great.

    Reply
  8. Aarika Harris via Facebook

    May 15, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    We use liquid calcium

    Reply
  9. Pamela J. Betz-Baron via Facebook

    May 15, 2014 at 9:43 pm

    We used Hyland’s Teething Tablets with both of our boys.

    Reply
  10. Tera

    Dec 13, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
    The words in your article seem to be running off the screen in Chrome.
    I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let
    you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue fixed soon.
    Many thanks

    Reply
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