Everyone knows that they should brush their teeth and use floss but one thing that gets forgot about in the daily hygiene routine for your mouth is mouthwash. There are so many kinds of mouth wash out there that there is something that will work for everyone. There are brands that target morning breath or that will help to restore your enamel along with ones that will help whiten your teeth as well. There are something’s that you need to keep in mind when using mouthwash though, like with anything there is pros and cons.
While mouthwash is a highly effective tool to keep your smile fresh and your mouth overall in good health you did need to remember that it is also a chemical cocktail. There is a reason that mouthwash needs to be swished and then spit and not swallowed, you really should never swallow mouthwash because of the chemicals used in it. There are chemicals such as Thymol, Eucalyptol, Hexedtidine, Methyl are just some of them. While in the small doses and in the general way they are added into mouthwash these are relatively harmless it still is not something you should really swallow. All of these components when in their natural state can cause a myriad is issues including but not limited to organ damage, internal bleeding and vomiting. If you do swallow mouthwash contact your local poison control hotline right away and follow the instructions that they give you.
Keeping in mind the potential of harm if swallowed the pro’s to the chemical cocktail and what mouthwash is are pretty good across the board. It helps to kill harmful bacteria that live in your mouth. Killing these bacteria will help curb tartar build up which will be a benefit to your teeth and enamel. It will also help keep your gums healthy and fight against things like gingivitis.
Mouthwash gets blamed for a lot of things out there by those who do not fully understand what is does and what help it offers for your mouth. If you look around the internet for just a little while you will see mouthwash getting the blame for things such as dry mouth, staining of the teeth, thrush and toothache. Categorically however these are not true, while if you have some other issues in your mouth you may see some effects come from the mouthwash in general it doesn’t cause harm. Lets take a look at each accusation separately.
Toothache: Mouthwash can cause your teeth to have some soreness or ache if you already have an issue with nerves being exposed. A weakening of enamel is known to cause this. Using a mouthwash that is specific towards sensitive teeth or uses for enamel restorative issues can help hold that off.
Dry mouth: Some mouthwashes can cause dry mouth if you have an overly sensitive mouth or salvia glands that do not work as well. The washes that are very high in alcohol content such as Listerine can cause some dry mouth. Knowing how your mouth works and what works best for you is the key to keeping away from this.
Teeth staining: I am not sure how this rumor came about but it has, mouthwash does not cause staining at all. In fact there are a great deal of products that are geared to help whiten your smile and keep your teeth stain resistant.
Thrush: Thrush is a fungal infection and it can be a nasty one to have, oral thrush is not fun at all in fact many think it is worse than regular thrush. Mouthwash however is not the cause of this thrush and in fact certain kinds of mouth wash are often suggested and recommended by Doctors and Dentist’s to help treat this oral thrush.