Mouthwash




There are three commonly used kinds of mouthwash: saline (salty water), essential oils (Listerine, etc.), and chlorhexidine gluconate.

Salineedit

Saline (warm salty water) is usually recommended after procedures like dental extractions. In a study completed in 2014, warm saline mouthrinse was compared to no mouthrinse in preventing alveolar osteitis (dry socket) after extraction. In the group that was instructed to rinse with saline, the prevalence of alveolar osteitis was less than in the group that did not.

Essential oils (EO) or cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC)edit

Essential oils, found in Listerine mouthwash, contains eucalyptol, menthol, thymol, and methyl salicylate. CPC containing mouthwash contains cetyl pyridinium chloride, found in brands such as Colgate Plax, Crest Pro Health, Oral B Pro Health Rinse. In a meta-analyses completed in 2016, EO and CPC mouthrinses were compared and it was found that plaque and gingivitis levels were lower with EO mouthrinse when used as an adjunct to mechanical plaque removal (toothbrushing and interdental cleaning).

Chlorhexidineedit

Chlorhexidine gluconate is an antiseptic mouthrinse that should only be used in two-week time periods due to brown staining on the teeth and tongue. Compared to essential oils, it is more efficacious in controlling plaque levels, but has no better effect on gingivitis and is therefore generally used for post-surgical wound healing or the short-term control of plaque.

Sodium hypochloriteedit

As mentioned earlier, sodium hypochlorite, a common household bleach, can be used as a 0.2% solution for 30 seconds two or three times a week as a cheap and effective means of combating harmful bacteria. The commercial product is 5% or 6%, so this requires diluting the product by a factor of about 30 (half a tablespoon in a full glass of water). The solution will lose activity with time and may be discarded after one day.

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