By Dr. Samuel Awosolu
samawosolu@ yahoo.co.uk
A mouthwash is a liquid adjuvant in oral health care. It is taken into the mouth in small bits, preferably diluted turned around and swirled around the mouth. It is gargled and spat away into the sink or waste removal. The mouth is rinsed afterwards. It could be used as a part of home dental hygiene routine. It acts as a detergent to loosen food debris from the tooth surfaces reducing the chances of the initiation of tooth decay.
The benefit of using mouthwash obviously as a start, helps freshen the breath removing the mouth odour associated with waking in the morning. It is a transient type of halitosis. Halitosis is another name for Mouth odour/ Bad breath.
It is noteworthy that mouthwash contains an anti-septic, an antiseptic is a substance that kills micro-organisms bacteria. However the mouth naturally contains bacteria, some of the bacteria whilst in the mouth do not cause any problems or disease, these can be referred to as good bacteria, others cause disease and are referred to as bad bacteria in the mouth. The downside is that the antibiotic in the mouthwash does not really discriminate between the good and the bad bacteria, it kills all bacteria.
The mouthwash has some side effects naturally , they contain in some cases alcohol in which case may not be acceptable to some faiths I mean some religions abhor consumption of alcohol in any form. Some formulations are made without adding alcohol, Alcohol containing formulations could also lead to dry oral mucosa.. Mouthwash can eliminate mouthwash and similarly cause dry mouth which could result in mouth odour. The dry mouth may be an invitation for the mouth to be repopulated by these bacteria.
Essentially bacteria need to stick to the teeth to cause dental caries, the dryness of the mouth will make it easier for bacteria to stick to the surface of the teeth, however when the teeth are moist it becomes much difficult for the bacteria to stick to the teeth.
When there is a severe gum disease, specially formulated and selected mouthwash will kill specific bacteria responsible. However the use of mouthwash should be done cautiously to avoid problems enumerated above.
Mouthwashes have varying composition and colours, they are flavoured, minty fruity, strawberry, vanilla, etc.
Some are having indicators so as to be able to colour the food debris and make it visual so that it can be easily removed by mechanical methods including tooth-brushing, professional scaling and polishing done at the dentists.
Examples of mouthwash are Plax, chlorhexidine, corsodyl they are easily available at most chemists and pharmacies of repute and supermarkets