Source: www.bupa.co.uk/health_information
Author: staff
Mouthwashes that contain alcohol should only be available on prescription from a dentist because of a possible link with oral cancer, according to researchers in Australia.
Professor Michael McCullough and Dr Camile Farah looked at previous research to see whether using mouthwashes containing alcohol is linked to oral (mouth) cancer. The review highlights the fact that certain mouthwashes contain more alcohol than some alcoholic drinks.
Drinking alcohol is one of the main risk factors for oral cancer, along with smoking. Smoking and drinking together increase the risk even further. The researchers recommend that mouthwashes that contain alcohol should only be available on prescription from a dentist, and should only be used for short periods of time to treat specific conditions.
However, Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, told the health information team: “The public can continue to use alcohol-containing mouthwashes with the utmost confidence. There is absolutely no proven link with mouth cancer. This is a poor piece of research and has led to unnecessary scaremongering.”
One of the studies that the researchers looked at showed that mouthwash users were more likely to develop oral cancer, even if they didn’t smoke or drink.
However, this study was carried out in Latin America where mouthwash isn’t routinely used. Those who used it may have been trying to treat problems caused by poor oral hygiene. It may have been this poor hygiene, rather than the mouthwash use, that increased the risk of oral cancer. To further cloud the issue, the study authors didn’t ask the participants if the mouthwash they used contained alcohol.
Yinka Ebo, Cancer Research UK’s Health Information Officer, explained: “It’s important to note that mouthwash users may be more likely to have poor oral hygiene, so more research is needed to find out whether it’s the mouthwash or the poor oral hygiene that increases the risk of mouth cancer.”
Both the British Dental Health Foundation and Cancer Research UK say more research is needed before any link between mouthwash and oral cancer can be confirmed.
Just because a study has not been done that links alcohol mouthwashes with oral cancer, it does not follow that patients should use them. Just as disinfectant hand washing on a regular basis is a bad idea, using a disinfectant mouthwash, is in my opinion a bad idea. Patients are much better served concentrating on old fashioned brushing and flossing to ‘naturally’ cut down the ‘bio load’ of bacteria in their mouths. Alcohol has been shown to be carcinogenic and most likely chlorhexidine has a benzene ring in its chemical structure.
Sometimes when we try and improve our health, we inadvertently make in worse.