if alcohol is bad for your teeth and oral health, why is it used in the majority of mouthwashes ?
In: Chemistry
Alcohol, as in an alcoholic beverage, is different than the alcohol used in mouthwashes. Alcohol that you drink has sugars in it, sugars that the bacteria in your mouth love. There’s also a tendency to be less hygienic when you drink, so tooth care suffers. There’s also a difference in how much alcohol you put in your body. When drinking alcohol, people have multiple drinks. Mouthwash is usually a small amount, just to kill bacteria. The vast majority of drinking alcohol is not strong enough to kill bacteria. The alcohol content is too weak to actively kill bacteria.
Alcohol in mouth washes is designed to be an antiseptic. It kills the bacteria in your mouth. If you swished mouthwash all day everyday, it probably would be bad for you, but once in the morning is beneficial.
Alcohol is an excellent solvent. You can dissolve all sorts of chemicals in it. You just need to spit out after you swish it around. Drinking it is how you get the negative effects you mention.
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