Dr Norman Swan

speaker

26,995 appearances 288 recordings 3 series first heard Apr 2006 last heard 15 Sep

Dr Norman Swan’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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What's That Rash? · Mouthwash: good or bad for you? · 8 Sep 2026 podcast

But not rinsing.

Now if you then mouthwash after that and the mouthwash does not contain a lot of fluoride, then you could be losing the fluoride that you've gained from the toothpaste.

So there are two solutions to that if you really want to u at the end of what's this what's that rash you really want to use uh mouthwash is

Ideally you want to use a fluoride-containing mouthwash, but ideally you do not want to use the mouthwash at the same time as you wash your teeth.

So you wash your teeth, and then maybe later on in the day you would use your mouthwash as a top-up of the fluoride.

But don't risk losing the effect of the of the toothpaste.

So non-fluoride-containing mouthwash, the the debate is just how long that effect lasts on dental plaque.

So there are clinical benefits for some conditions that your dentist might recommend it for.

Antiseptic mouthwash has been shown to be benefit in gingivitis, so inflammation of the gums around the margins.

You know, and if your dentist recommends it, we are certainly not going to contradict that, but that has been shown to be of benefit.

But in other areas, less so.

We don't know, is the short answer.

There have been studies, but they've been small and a bit fragmented.

So we simply don't know the effect of this antiseptic in the mouth.

And it's likely that it is changing the microbiome from its healthy state, as well as preventing dental plaque.

So the oral microbiome, because of its specificity, has been associated with other conditions.

Now this research

Is also not terrific, but for example, there is thought to be a relationship with perhaps even Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

That the messaging from the mouth to the brain, because it's nearby, uh, from the oral microbiome might actually influence brain health.

The evidence for that is not terrific, but there's some there.

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