HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOUTHWASH AND TOOTHPASTE? With so many products available on the supermarket shelves, it can be quite confusing. Here are some basic facts about mouthwashes and toothpastes, to help you pick the best one for your personal use.
To know which mouthwash is best for you, you need to know why it is important to use it in the first place. Essentially, a mouthwash is an oral rinse that gives several benefits: 1) it removes food particles stuck between teeth and in hard-to-reach places of the mouth; 2) it kills the bacteria that cause plaque and create volatile sulfur compounds, which are the source of strong mouth odors; and 3) it gives a fresh, clean feeling in the mouth and makes the breath smell more pleasant.
It must be made clear, however, that mouthwash is not meant to replace brushing, flossing and the use of toothpaste. That said, using a mouthwash should be a part of your daily oral hygiene—something you definitely cannot afford to miss.
Toothpaste, on the other hand, is already known to many as an essential part of the oral hygiene regimen primarily because it helps scour away the food debris. But more than just removing food debris, your toothpaste should be hardworking enough to get rid of plaque-causing bacteria while keeping your gums healthy.
Marketing manager Ria Perez says that she never liked using her old mouthwash because of its medicinal taste and the stinging sensation caused by its alcohol content. It was a good thing that she discovered OraCare Mouthrinse which not only has a more pleasant taste, but is also alcohol-free.
“I can never leave the house without having gargled with OraCare. I have no fear facing and talking to people up close, because I am assured of having real clean, fresh breath ,” says marketing manager Ria Perez,”
Ria used to work as a flight attendant in Qatar, where spicy dishes are a normal part of the cuisine. “As you know, eating spicy foods always leave strong odors in the mouth. As a flight attendant, my job is to ensure that our passengers are comfortable and have a pleasant experience during the flight. I not only have to speak in close range to passengers but also to our pilots as well. Strong mouth odors are a no-no in such a job,” she said.
No sting allowed
Some people think that the sting they feel when using an alcohol-based mouthwash is a sign that the product is “working” and is killing the bacteria in the mouth. This is not true. While the amount of alcohol in an alcohol-based mouthwash ranges from as low as 5.7 percent to as high as 26.9 percent per volume (that’s higher than the average alcohol content of wine or beer, by the way); or even 75.6 percent for a “concentrated” mouthwash formula that requires dilution with water (because such a concentrated amount is unbearably painful to gargle with) the alcohol is not meant to kill the odor-causing bacteria.
So if the alcohol in an alcohol-based mouthwash is not really the one killing the bacteria, why the need for alcohol, then? The reason is that alcohol acts as a solvent, so that the active ingredients of the mouthwash will dissolve and mix together. Without alcohol, the active ingredients, usually a blend of different types of essential oils, will not mix together and will not stick to plaque long enough to be effective.
But the bigger question is this: why endure the painful sting of alcohol-based mouthwashes when there’s a painless alternative?
Magazine editor and writer Nova Arias discovered this painless, yet effective, alternative when she began using Oracare. Unlike other mouthwash brands, OraCare does not contain alcohol—and as a result it does not cause a stinging sensation in the mouth.
“OraCare really helps because I can use it as often as I need to, without worrying that it will leave a stinging sensation in my mouth. I use OraCare to keep my breath fresh and pleasant during meetings with our publication staff and with clients,” she says.
Besides her publishing work, Nova is also a co-anchor at a program in Radio Veritas and a voice talent as well—she dubs foreign TV programs into Tagalog, a task that again involves a great deal of talking and conversing, making fresh and pleasant breath important for her success.
Oxygen power
There are several reasons behind strong mouth odors that can be a bane in one’s social life. One of these is eating foods with onion, garlic, and other spices that can leave strong odors in the mouth.
Another cause is mouth dryness, which can happen when one drinks a substantial amount of liquor. When the mouth is dry, there is less saliva— which is a natural mouth cleanser. Less saliva means there will be an overgrowth of odor-causing bacteria in the mouth. Certain bacteria in the mouth—when allowed to thrive—produce a strong unpleasant odor along with volatile sulfur compounds. The bad bacteria feed on leftover food debris and dead cells, which in turn excrete volatile sulfur compounds—the real cause of strong mouth odors.
Celebrity and fashion stylist Joey Espiritu cringes when he recalls the smell of his breath after consuming alcohol the evening before. “One of the things I really hate is having to talk to my mother with alcohol breath,” he shares.
Joey didn’t know back then that his mouth went dry as a result of his drinking session, leading to a lot of odor-causing bacteria that produced the volatile sulfur compounds in his mouth.
OraCare Mouthrinse can help eliminate the strong mouth odors caused by these bacteria because of its active ingredient Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide—a known powerful, yet non-toxic, oxidizing agent. OraCare’s Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide releases oxygen in the mouth which eliminates the source of odor in 2 ways: 1) It bonds with the sulfur thus neutralizing the volatile sulfur compounds—the primary source of odor, and 2) It kills odor-causing bacteria in the mouth through the process of oxidation. Odor-causing bacteria in the mouth are anaerobic, which means they cannot survive in the presence of oxygen.
“I no longer experienced unpleasant morning breath when I finally switched to OraCare. “I was amazed to learn that other mouthwashes merely masked mouth odor, but OraCare actually neutralizes the cause of the odor itself!” says Joey.
OraCare: Smarter Oral Hygiene
Complete oral hygiene means practicing proper brushing, flossing, using a mouthwash, and paying regular visits to the dentist. Now, the smarter oral hygiene entails practicing good oral hygiene while using the combined power of OraCare Toothpaste and Mouthrinse.
Step 1: Brushing teeth using OraCare Toothpaste is the smarter choice because it contains Aloe Vera and Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide that effectively removes plaque- and tartar-causing bacteria, while keeping the gums moisturized.
Step 2: Floss in-between teeth to remove food particles and plaque build-up.
Step 3: Gargle with OraCare Mouthrinse, the smarter choice when it comes to mouthwash because it has Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide that freshens and cleans the mouth by eliminating the source of strong mouth odors, without the sting caused by alcohol and strong flavors present in other mouthwashes.
Step 4: Visit your dentist every 6 months.
“I always carry OraCare toothpaste and mouthrinse with me wherever I go,” says Joey, “because these products give me an assurance that my mouth is totally clean. The cool, fresh and clean feeling I get afterwards encourages me to keep taking good care of my mouth and teeth.”
So make the smarter choice: use OraCare for fresh breath and keeping teeth and gums healthy. OraCare Mouthrinse (in Regular and Cool flavors) and OraCare Toothpaste are available in leading supermarkets and drugstores nationwide.
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