Dentist warns against daily use of mouthwash: ‘It’s aging you faster than you think'

Mouthwash can interfere with the body's nitric oxide production, essential for lowering blood pressure post-exercise.

Who doesn't love smelling like mint and all things nice all the time. After a nice date, everyone wants to make sure that their mouths smell fresh in case they get lucky. A mouthwash bottle always comes in clutch. But did you know that rinsing your mouth with mouthwash more than once in a while might be doing you more harm than previously thought?

Dentist recommends putting away the mouthwash

California-based dentist Dr Miles Madison shared a video on Instagram recently to shed light on the same. Dr Madison says that using mouthwash is like ‘carpet-bombing’ all kinds of bacteria in your mouth, even the good ones.

“A lot of these alcohol-based antiseptic mouthwashes are killing not just the bad bacteria but also a lot of the good bacteria. These beneficial bacteria are producing a very important molecule for our bodies called nitric oxide.”

As per the US government's National Library of Medicine, ‘within the vasculature, NO induces vasodilation, inhibits platelet aggregation, prevents neutrophil/platelet adhesion to endothelial cells, inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, regulates programmed cell death (apoptosis) and maintains endothelial cell barrier function.’

“So if you are using mouthwashes that carpetbomb your whole mouth and get rid of all the good and bad bacteria, you are reducing your body's ability to produce nitric oxide. That's why I do not recommend using these mouthwashes on a daily basis. Once in a while is okay but using these every day is a big hell no,” Dr Madison said in the video.

A person asked the dentist if alcohol free mouthwashes are better. He replied, “Depends on the mouthwash. Some no alcohol ones have really high essential oils that can also kill the good bacteria.”

Mouthwash also affects the results of your workout

Exercise helps lower blood pressure, but this benefit is reduced if you rinse your mouth with antibacterial mouthwash instead of water. A study from 2019 found that oral bacteria play a key role in this effect. When we exercise, our body produces nitric oxide, which helps open up blood vessels. After exercise, nitric oxide turns into nitrate, which oral bacteria convert into nitrite—a compound that keeps blood vessels open. When participants used mouthwash, this process was blocked, and their blood pressure didn’t drop as much. This shows that mouth bacteria are important for maintaining lower blood pressure after exercise.