Colgate Orabase Maximum Strength Oral Pain Reliever Review

My eight year old son recently was diagnosed with Strep Throat and along with that misfortune came a very large sore on the inside of his bottom lip. I'm still not sure if he just bit it or if it was a canker sore but the poor kid was in so much pain. The doctor recommended that he gargle with salt water a few times a day. Getting him to do that was not very successful so I asked my husband to go to the drugstore to see if he could find some sort of oral anesthetic. He came home with Colgate Orabase Maximum Strength Oral Pain Reliever Paste. I never knew Colgate made this type of medication but I was pleased that it was not just some generic brand. He paid $5.49 for a 0.21 oz. tube of the Orabase. The active ingredient is 20 percent of Benzocaine which is a mild numbing agent. 

Our Experience

The box stated that this oral pain reliever was for "canker and mouth sore pain as well as minor irritation or injury of the mouth and gums caused by dentures or orthodontic appliances." To me, that sounded like it would do the trick so I proceeded to read the directions and the first thing I had to do was snip off the tip of the tube. It then said to gently dab the paste on the sore with either a Qtip or my finger. I went with the Qtip option since I thought it would be more sterile. I squeezed out some of the white paste and I didn't notice any scent. At this point my son was hiding under the table begging me not to touch his sore. After luring him out and promising I would be very gentle, I attempted to apply the paste to the sore on the underside of his lip. This was really difficult because the area was wet and the paste was, well, paste. It didn't go on very easily and seemed to clump up. I found it necessary to try to remove the glop that slid off the sore and try to reapply it again. My son was crying and I was frustrated with this product. When I was finally able to get the paste to stick, relief was not immediate. It took a good five to seven minutes for it to set in. My son was pleased that there wasn't any taste to it and did say his sore felt a bit better. Too bad I had to torture him to get him the relief. I really think if this was a gel it would have worked a lot better.

My Final Viewpoint

If the need ever comes up again, I honestly don't think that I will purchase Colgate Orabase Maximum Strength Oral Pain Reliever Paste. I can't really recommend it because getting that glop out when it slides around is a real pain. I have to go with only a 2 star rating on this one.