Dr. Sanda Moldovan explains which mouthwashes to avoid: alcohol-based ones linked to cancer risk and chlorhexidine, which she calls a pesticide. Skip acidic brands like Listerine (pH 3.5) that cause sensitivity. Alcohol-free, pH-balanced formulas with essential oils or aloe vera work better, though mouthwash is optional if you brush and floss well.
June 12, 2019
pH 3.5
Hi everyone, I'm Dr. Sandha. So today's question is, are mouthwashes good for me and which one should I use? So that's a really important question because if you go to the drugstore, you'll see so many mouthwashes out there. So which one is really good? I don't like a mouthwash that has alcohol because alcohol can really denature cells. And there have been links from use of oral mouthwashes with alcohol to oral cancer. So it's not something that I recommend. Choose a mouthwash that does not have alcohol. There's many of them out there. I also prefer a mouthwash that doesn't have chemical things in it, such as chlorhexidine. You know, chlorhexidine actually is a toxin. It's a pesticide that's used in the field. It's not something that we should be using orally. There's much better mouthwashes out there that have been shown to be effective, better than chlorhexidine. In our office we use a mouthwash that's aloe vera based with essential oil that has been shown to kill the microorganisms that cause disease. Much better than chlorhexidine based mouthwashes. But in terms at the store, if you go to the store, definitely choose something with essential oils, something without alcohol, and something that says that it's PH balanced because you don't want to swish with something that's very acidic. Right? So, for example, if you get a mouthwash like Listerine, which has a ph of 3.5 and you swish with that every day, it could actually cause tooth sensitivity and you might wonder why. Well, discontinue the use of Listerine and try to use something that's PH balanced and usually it will say on the label whether or not it's PH balanced and just switch to something else. Not everybody used to use a mouthwash. For example, if you have some inflammation, it's okay to use a mouthwash temporarily. But I don't really recommend a mouthwash every day necessarily, as long as you're able to clean well the areas that you do need to clean. If you have any other questions regarding mouthwashes or anything else for that matter, go ahead and tweet Mersanda or you can send me a message at askdrsanda Facebook page. Until next time.
