Mouthwashes and mouth rinses are viewed as adjunctive at home treatments and they should definitely not take the place of properly cleaning your teeth.
Walking down the aisle in the supermarket can be very confusing when deciding which mouthwash or mouth rinse to purchase and why?
Benefits of using a mouthwash:
Freshen your breath – It’s the most obvious benefit but, remember it is only short acting.
Fluroride – Some mouthwashes and mouth rinses help to reduce decay but, you can generally get enough fluoride through using a toothpaste that contains fluroride.
Reduces gum disease – Depending on the ingredients in the products used they can help to reduce gingivitis.
Things you need to think about when using mouthwash:
Mouthwashes containing alcohol – If a mouthwash contains alcohol, there is a higher risk of oral cancer. So it is important to always try to use non-alcoholic mouth rinses. Please know that the alcohol in mouthwashes are of no benefit to you.
If you are using a mouthwash or mouth rinse to help your breath it is always wise to speak with your dentist to ensure you are using a product that will best help your needs and don’t rely on a mouth wash or rinse to suit this purpose as mentioned earlier it is only going to help in the short term.
Try not to use a mouth rinse if there are open wounds in the mouth because it will hurt and delay healing, it would be best to use saline mouthwash instead.
