Mouthwash Can Raise Your Blood Pressure

Mouthwash manufacturers tell you that they will “clean” your mouth of bacteria. The problem is, along with the harmful bacteria, there are a lot of helpful bacteria in your mouth. The helpful bacteria play an important role in regulating blood pressure, and most antiseptic mouthwash kills those helpful bacteria as well.

I strongly recommend that you only use antiseptic mouthwash under close supervision of a knowledgeable dentist. Antiseptic mouthwash is a tool, one that should be used for a specific purpose and duration. We sometimes recommend it as an adjunct for treating gingivitis and decay. If we think mouthwash will benefit you, we’ll make a specific recommendation based upon your individual needs.

Here are some alternative ways to address problems that mouthwash is often aimed at:

  • If you want to address bad breath, use a tongue scraper to mechanically remove the bulk of the odor-causing bacteria. But talk to me about the problem because there are many other places it can come from and I can help you find it.
  • If you want to manage gingivitis, brush your gums longer and/or use an Oral-B iO series toothbrush (they really help), and floss daily.
  • If you want to strengthen enamel, use a rinse that contains simply fluoride or silver (silver is antibacterial, but does not target the useful bacteria).
For my science and engineering loving clients, here are details about how this works:

Your body relies on beneficial oral bacteria that live on your tongue and gums to take the dietary nitrates you eat (from leafy greens, beets, etc.) and reduce them into nitrites. Your stomach acid and blood vessels further convert these nitrites into bioavailable nitric oxide, which helps your blood vessels be flexible, thus keeping your blood pressure lower. Without the bacteria, the nitrates just pass through your digestive tract and do nothing.

This is especially true in older people where the internal mechanisms for creating nitric oxide have weakened.

This video explains the process in more detail, with references to several related studies. It advocates for beet juice.

Here is the most relevant study:

"Over-the-counter mouthwash use, nitric oxide and hypertension risk"

This study, among other things, looks at how Chlorhexidine (CHX) impacts nitric oxide.

“Frequency of Tongue Cleaning Impacts the Human Tongue Microbiome Composition and Enterosalivary Circulation of Nitrate”