My little girl is 21 months old and she teethed very early - around two months old. We think this was due to steroids I was given in pregnancy to mature her lungs (she was premature) as this is a side effect, but who knows?

Anyway, we knew she was teething as she was dribbling non stop and putting anything and everything into her mouth (including the poor cat's tail). So off we went to Boots to see what we could find. Unfortunately Bonjela was suitable from three months plus, and this was our first choice as it is instantly what one considers when you get an ulcer or sore mouth. Then we spotted Dentinox, suitable from birth.

The gel comes in a white box with the green Dentinox logo and a picture of mum and baby. It was priced at a reasonable £1.53 at Boots, for a 15g tube, and I believe this is about the same price it retails at at supermarkets. At Boots you get double points on baby buys, so it was a bargain really. The active ingredient in the gel is Lidocaine Hydrochloride 0.33% w/w and cetylpyridinium chloride 0.10% w/w.

The gel comes in a metal tube and the seal must be punctured with the reverse of the cap, which is great as you know then that it hasn't been tampered with. The downside is the fact that the tube is metal - I'm not a big fan of metal tubes as they tend to split and/or nick, which leaves sharp edges - not ideal for babies who get their hands on everything! It also means that the gel can leak out, which means you end up with a messy, sticky tube which is gross.

The gel itself is a brown colour, quite thick and sticky as you'd expect really. The instructions advise that it can be applied with a clean finger or cotton wool. I've always used my finger, as I find cotton wool fleeces easily and you can feel much better with a finger, so you know how much has been put on and absorbed etc. It also means that you can have a sneaky feel of any developing teeth easily whilst applying it!

The effects are instant - my daughter calms immediately when it's applied and even puts it on herself now lol. It tastes nice (I've tried it!) and is much nicer tasting than Bonjela! It does have a slightly cool taste as you'd expect due to the anaesthetic, but it isn't too cool and it isn't minty at all. It's quite a sweet, pleasant taste. My daughter certainly loves it!

You can apply the gel every 20 minutes up to 6 times a day. However I have found that one or two applications is more than enough to keep her happy. At night I usually only put it on once at bedtime and she's fine all night!

Now that she's 21 months, we have tried Bonjela but it just doesn't work well at all, and she doesn't like the taste. Dentinox seems to work the best, very quickly and very well!

Aside from the fact it comes in a metal tube, I really can't fault it! It tastes nice, it's cheap, it works amazingly and easy to use! 5 stars from me!

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