What are your risks if you use mouthwash every day?

Researchers have found that people who use mouthwash every day disrupt the balance of their oral microbiome.

This community of bacteria that lives inside the mouth helps digest food and maintain overall oral health. Changes in the balance of the microbiome have been associated with periodontal disease, as well as certain types of cancer, such as esophageal and colon cancer.

Researchers from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, found that one of the most famous and widely used mouth rinses caused the growth of two types of bacteria – Fusobacterium nucleatum and Streptococcus anginosus – at significantly higher than normal levels after daily use for three months. . These bacteria have previously been linked to diseases such as gingivitis and even cancer of the esophagus, colon and rectum. There was also a decrease in a group of bacteria called Actinobacteria, which make an important contribution to the regulation of blood pressure.

The study's first author, Dr Jolene Lomine Lomine, a researcher in the Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, said: “Alcohol-based mouth rinses are common. Many people use them daily to prevent bad breath or periodontitis. However, they should be aware of possible negative consequences. Ideally, long-term use of such solutions should be under the guidance of specialists.”

Although new findings link daily use of alcohol-based mouthwashes to negative changes in the oral microbiome, this study has its limitations. For example, information was not obtained about the volunteers' eating and smoking habits, which also play a role in the oral microbiome.

Further research is needed to examine how changes observed in the oral microbiome influence clinical outcomes in large, representative populations.

The study results were published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

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