Dr. Sanda Moldovan live on ABC

A warning for parents. The FDA is now calling for certain over the counter teething creams and gels for babies to be taken off the market over safety concerns. It affects products with the drug benzocaine used to soothe your child's aching gums.

Here to discuss this is periodontist Dr. Sandhya Moldovan. Thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate that.

Thank you for having me.

What are the dangers with these teething creams and gels?

Well, this is the problem with this product here, actually. It has benzocaine in it and it causes an inability for the kids to have oxygen in their blood, so they can't breathe. That's the problem.

Is that all? Wow, Serious.

Yes, exactly. But just like kids, adults shouldn't overuse it. Also for teeth aches, for example.

Wow.

Okay, so now we have a few. You brought a few things. And I know that I was saying my little guy just turned 3 recently, so I've been using a lot of teething stuff, but I used those little hyaline teething tablets and I used that other thing that's in that blue box. Can you explain a few of these items on why you think they're so good?

Absolutely. I think there's so many natural products today for teething and for pain. So Camellia is actually a homeopathic. So it's so safe, it doesn't have any side effects. So what you can do is actually take the inside. It comes in a little tube as a liquid in it. So we can actually put it on your finger and rub it on your child's gums. Oh, okay.

Is that what you're supposed to do?

And it's actually soothing? Yes. Nice.

Okay.

Yes, you could do that.

I broke it and my little one.

Was like drinking it.

Yeah, it seemed to work though.

Yes, it works. Another good thing would be if you have spoons that are covered with a BPA free plastic. You could put them in the freezer and the cold is really soothing for their gums. Okay. If you don't have a spoon, you can actually just use a carrot, for example, or a frozen apple slice. You could just wrap it in just a little interesting frosting and just have him just work on it.

I remember we used to freeze little washcloths. Is that still a good idea?

Yes. You can use a knotted washcloth with some chamomile tea and just dip it in. And you can actually just freeze it and use that. So that's good to know.

Yeah. And there's also little things that have a little netting that you can freeze like strawberries and put the strawberry in. I mean, it makes a big fat mess.

Absolutely. And what's new on the market is actually probiotics for inflammation.

Really?

So for children now, we have chewable probiotics. This is the Orisana probiotic mince, just an example, but you can actually take that on your finger and just rub it on their gums. And it's anti inflammatory and it's all natural.

I know some adults use that stuff just to numb like if they have gum problems or teeth pain. Is this unsafe for adults as well?

Safe for adults as well. And it actually tastes sweet with xylitol in it, which promotes the growth of healthy bacteria.

So are you thinking benzocaine?

Just cut it out.

Don't even give it to adults as well?

Absolutely. No more benzocaine, especially products for teeth aches. I would definitely go see your dentist or use something more natural.

And how early should a baby see a dentist?

Yes. But nowadays you can take your kids even up to the age of like six months when they first get their teeth, just to check to make sure. Yes, a little late on that one.

Thank you so much.

It's really nice to have you here. And you can find out more about Dr. Moldovan at her website, DrSandaMaldivan.com or BeverlyHillsDentalHealth.com so many things are changing.

So it's so helpful for parents because I wish I had this program when I was googling everything.

Yeah, tell me about it 20 years later.

Thank you so much, Doctor.