Ditch your Mouthwash!

Put yourself in this familiar picture. You are at the store and next on your shopping list is Mouthwash. Good old mouthwash, many dentists will say it freshens breath, fights plaque, and re-mineralizes the teeth! You walk through the aisle and the choices seem endless.

Which one should you get? Listerine? Crest? The Store Brand? Which color should I get? Purple, Green, or Blue?

I’ll save you the hassle of choosing by giving you the answer flat out. NEITHER! 

Let’s begin with the first claim, the claim that mouthwash helps fight periodontal disease. Yes brushing absolutely helps keep it contained but periodontal disease is a diet issue1. Eating sugar and other carbs provides fuel for the toxic bacteria in our mouth to create plaque, the acidic liquid that breaks down enamel and an eventually harden into tarter and causes tooth decay. On top of that though, not having adequate nutrition in your diet means that your body does not have the adequate amount of resources to remineralize your teeth.

Which brings us to the next misconception about mouthwash. No, mouthwash does not remineralize our teeth, it sterilizes them killing 99.9% of germs BOTH good and bad! Our mouth and GI tract consists of bacteria most of which are actually beneficial to us in helping keep our digestive system working properly. Periodontal disease and the bad breath that so often accompanies it are caused by an imbalance of good bacteria and bad bacteria in our mouth. When we are eating sugar and starch that has little fiber we are fueling the harmful bacteria in our mouth. On the other hand if we consume foods rich in nutrients such as prebiotic fiber we instead fuel the healthy bacteria in our mouth, helping prevent and even reverse periodontal disease1. Foods rich in protein, healthy fats, fiber, and probiotics are also important to include in the mix. When we are getting adequate nutrients from our food, our body is capable of repairing and replacing the enamel worn down by the cavity causing bacteria in our mouths, plain and simple. 

When we swish with mouthwash, the mouthwash quite literally destroys that balanced microbiome we are trying to establish. It kills bacteria, but does not discriminate between the good bacteria and bad bacteria. Sure it might make your breath smell better but that’s no different than spraying febreze in a stuffy room. You might cover up the smell temporarily but you are doing nothing to address the issue causing the bad smell which is periodontal disease. Mouth wash does not remineralize teeth, it does not remove plaque and tartar from our teeth, and it certainly does not give our body any nutrients to help rebuild. To remove plaque and tartar that causes bad breath you need to, brush your teeth, get a periodic cleaning, and eat a balanced diet.

Mouthwash does not remineralize our teeth, it sterilizes them killing 99.9% of germs BOTH good and bad.  

On top of that, the alcohol in most mouthwashes can also dry out your gums creating an even more favorable environment for dental decay. Our body has a natural remineralizer, our saliva! To make sure we produce enough of it we need to be drinking enough water. And to make sure it can function optimally we need to make sure we have a balanced diet, particularly making sure we are getting enough of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2. If you still insist on using mouthwash try to use mouthwash that makes your produce more saliva not less.

But now you might be saying “what if my mouthwash does not contain alcohol?”
  When most brands make alcohol free mouthwash they simply replace alcohol with other antimicrobial liquids such as glycerol and hydrogen peroxide. The effects are going to be very similar, sterilizing and dehydrating your mouth without dealing with any of the underlying causes of periodontal disease.

So what are some alternatives if we want to have better breath and overall better dental health? To prevent dental decay we need to keep our plaque levels at bay. Going back to the original point, to do that we need to eat a balanced diet, maintain proper brushing habits, and get a periodic cleaning. Make sure to eat nutrient dense foods and after meals skip the dessert! Opt instead to eat fibrous veggies or sugarless gum after meals to clean up the residue. You will instantly notice and feel the difference! To remove excess plaque, brush your teeth, don’t use mouthwash!

But don’t go throwing away that mouthwash bottle quite yet. Mouthwash has plenty of uses as an antiseptic or cleaner. Use mouthwash to clean your counters not your teeth!