Experts divided over whether mouthwash is a cancer causer

New York, United States, January 12: Dentists often advise people to wash mouth with water and then rinse off with the mouthwash in order to maintain oral hygiene and fight against gum and tooth infection. Now, experts are divided on the safety of its usage.

Australian health experts recently warned that some top-brand mouthwashes can cause oral cancerdefine and should be pulled from supermarket shelves immediately.

The warning came on the heels of fresh scientific evidence linking alcohol-containing mouthwashes to an increased risk of oral cancer.

A review article published in the Australian Dental Journal and highlighted on TV3 Sunday night said there is now "sufficient evidence" that antiseptic mouthwashes that contain alcohol contribute to the increased risk of development of the deadly disease.

Author of the review paper, Michael McCullough, an associate professor in Oral medicine at Melbourne University, said the mouthwash contains ethanol, which they believe allows cancer-causing compounds to attack the lining of the mouth more easily and cause harm.

According to the article, which is authored by several independent experts, a toxic by-product of alcohol called acetaldehyde that may accumulate in the oral cavity when swished around the mouth is also believed to be carcinogenic.

McCullough, who is also chair of the ADA’s therapeutics committee, said alcohol-containing mouthwash should be reclassified as prescription-only and carry written health warnings. He also urged the ADA to urgently reassess its seal of approval on mouthwashes containing alcohol.

Responding promptly to the review article’s claims, several organizations including the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association and the School of Dentistry at the University of Queensland on Sunday issued statements reassuring consumers about the safety of antiseptic mouthwashes.

Professor Laurence Walsh, head of the School of Dentistry at the University of Queensland rejected the claim and contended that paper draws on a small and selective group of studies and has no established casual link between oral cancer and mouthwashes.

Prof. Walsh said, "A wide range of critical and systematic reviews over many years have failed to show any statistically significant association between mouthwash use and oral cancer."

He added, "There is certainly nothing in the current paper to change our thinking in that regard."

According to the executive director of the Direct Selling Association, Garth Wyllie, mouthwashes continue to play a major role in improving dental hygiene.

“Antiseptic mouthwashes play an important role in helping to reduce gum inflammation and plaque. Most antiseptic mouthwashes contain alcohol and there is no doubt they are effective and safe when used appropriately,” Wyllie said.

Mouthwash or mouth rinse is a product used for oral hygiene. Mouth rinses serve a variety of purposes, including masking bad breath, fighting cavities or preventing the buildup of plaque, the sticky material that contains germs and can lead to oral diseases.

In addition to water, sweeteners such as sorbitol, Sucralose, sodium saccharine, and xylitol, some active ingredients included in commercial brands of mouthwash are Thymol, eucalyptol, hexetidine, methyl salicylate, menthol, chlorhexidine gluconate, benzalkonium chloride, cetylpyridinium chloride, methylparaben, hydrogen peroxide, domiphen bromide and sometimes fluoride, enzymes and calcium.

Sometimes a significant amount of alcohol, up to 27 percent vol., is added, as a carrier for the flavor, to provide "bite", and to contribute an antibacterial effect. The widely popular golden colored, medicinal-tasting mouthwash, Listerine contains as much as 26 percent alcohol.