Toothpaste-mouth rinse combo is effective in washing away bacteria
A study of mouth microbes found that antibacterial toothpaste and mouthwash with essential oils work much better when used together to remove bacteria than when used separately.
Researchers looked at bacteria which cling to wires used in dental retainers bonded to teeth, as they are known hosts of bacteria which can cause bleeding, receding gums, and cavities. According to Marije Jongsma, who led the study, the retainers ‘usually stay in place for an extended period of time’ meaning it is ‘important to find a way to minimize these adverse effects’.
Jongsma and colleagues at the University of Groningen and University Medical Center in the Netherlands tested three types of toothpaste and a mouth rinse, both together and separately, to see the effects on the size and makeup of biofilms living on retainer wires. The study involved twenty two adults wearing either single-strand or multi-strand wired retainers who had to brush their teeth a minimum of twice daily with a manual toothbrush.
They were separated into three groups: one was assigned to a toothpaste without antibacterial properties, the second was assigned to antibacterial toothpastes containing stannous fluoride, whilst the third group was assigned to antibacterial toothpastes containing triclosan.
After a week of using toothpaste alone, the groups did not use them for six weeks, and then used their assigned toothpaste for another week, this time with a mouth rinse containing essential oils. After each of the weeks when the assigned products were used, the volunteers’ retainer wires were removed and researchers analyzed the living and dead bacteria on the wires.
It was found that multi-strand wires accumulated more bacteria than single-strand wires. However, when volunteers used a toothpaste without antimicrobial ingredients, , there were more live bacteria remaining on single-strand wires than on multi-strand wires, regardless of whether mouth rinse was used. Using antibacterial toothpaste on its own did not have much of an effect on the total number of bacteria on the wires, but it did significantly reduce the proportion of living microbes.
Using antibacterial toothpaste together with the mouth rinse left the smallest number of bacteria and the lowest proportion of living bacteria. Importantly, that combination also produced a shift in the bacterial population.
