ADA Moves to Increase Mouthwash Awareness

David Lorich of Buffalo, N.Y., cares about his teeth. Some might even call it a passion.

Since the 40-year-old's braces were removed in high school, he has maintained a three-toothbrushings-per-day ritual. When it became clear that flossing could help his dental health, he took that up too.

Little surprise, then, that he ended up marrying a dental hygienist.

"It works out well," Lorich says. "She doesn't like kissing me if I have dirty teeth."

But Lorich also does something for his dental health that has not yet specifically found its way into the American Dental Association's guidelines. That is, he rinses with an antibacterial mouthwash once a day.

"You only have to rinse for 30 seconds," he says. "The brushing takes longer than the rinsing."

And though this step has still not attained the same respect accorded to brushing and flossing, recent moves by the ADA to boost awareness of antibacterial mouthwashes suggest that perhaps more Americans should be following Lorich's lead.

Brush, Floss ... and Rinse?

First, all you've heard from your dentist is brush your teeth every morning and night. More recently, of course, the message from the ADA has changed to brush and floss.

Cliff Whall, director of the ADA Seal of Acceptance program, agrees that adding "rinse" to the mantra would probably be a good move for most everyone as well, as antimicrobial mouthwashes have been shown in clinical studies to prevent the gum disease gingivitis, an inflammation of the gums caused by the accumulation of plaque along the gum line.

Whall says dozens of antimicrobial rinses, like Listerine and the prescription mouthwash Peridex (also known by the generic name chlorhexidine), have carried the ADA Seal of Acceptance for two decades now for this very reason. Many rinses containing the tooth-strengthening chemical fluoride have also garnered this seal.

"The council came to the conclusion that putting more information out would be beneficial, as the message just hasn't gotten out there as much as it has with fluoride toothpaste."