By Listerine, I’m including all alcohol-based mouth rinses. Does one work better than the other, or does one treat a certain ailment better than the other? I know both are used as a mouth rinse, but never really heard any pros/cons for either product.
I’ve used only peroxide since '75 on the advice of a dentist so I can’t speak to alternatives.
Peroxide is more than a germ-killing mouthwash. It also oxidizes the dead skin cells which provide a home for the little suckers. I don’t think of it as a mouthwash; I brush with it twice a day (not forgetting the tongue and roof of mouth) and could get by with nothing else. It leaves no odor but no odor at all.
The first time you try it, the reaction in your mouth will be violent. That’s just the peroxide cleaning house. But do it regularly and you will find that Listerine (or any other) lasts longer.
your mouth is a ecosystem with things living in it, some OK and some less so. if you use a total killer chemical then the good and bad are both wiped out. both will reestablish at different rates and may be out of balance for a while.
alcohol mouthwash will both kill bacteria and dehydrate some of your cells.
unless you used mouthwash frequently, like once an hour or more you wouldn’t keep the bacteria out of your mouth. to do so isn’t good anyway.
best is a way to lessen the harmful bacteria. floss daily, brush twice daily or after eating, scrape tongue. sugars and acids are bad if you have long exposure (lots of it or leaving in mouth).
above advice from dentist or media. who knows what is reality?
The only thing with peroxide is you can’t use it if you have any metal piercings. (tongue, lips, cheeks). It will corrode even stainless, and you can’t always be sure other parts besides the actual post/hoop are really surgical stainless.
H[sub]2[/sub]O[sub]2[/sub] will negatively effect normal tissue after a short time.
My dentist is the dean of the University of Washington dental school. He was very unhappy with me for using it.
I can’t see Peroxide doing a hole lot more good than chlorine-based bleach. You’d notice the second because the taste would make you throw up. The exact distinction between Listerine and watered Whisky (even in shade) I have never quite grasped, but if you have really foul breath then there’s more causing it than between tooth scrubs and if you don’t then toothpaste is probably quite sufficient, especially one with [calcium] fluoride in it.
Another vote for a tongue scraper. I’ve found hydrogen peroxide to be counterproductive, YMMV.
Random question – I find sometimes when I gargle with Listerine it makes my tonsils kind sting all over. Is that a sign of infection or tonsillitis?
Could you explain this more fully?
I couldn’t find anything on the net but my Dentist told me that gargling with hydrogen peroxide wasn’t good over long periods of time. Something about destroying good bacteria. Can’t remember.
I’ve gotten strep throat a number of times, and the common link before strep infection was use of hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash.
Anecdotal evidence, etc.