Can Mouthwash Be Used Daily? Are There Any Harms to Long-Term Mouthwash Use?

With people becoming more conscious about personal hygiene, they have started paying more attention to oral cleanliness. Some individuals, in order to maintain oral hygiene more effectively, apart from daily brushing, frequently use mouthwash. Mouthwash has indeed brought many conveniences to people's lives and can effectively clean and disinfect the oral cavity, which is of great significance for maintaining oral health. Can mouthwash be used every day? Although mouthwash is convenient to use and has a good cleaning effect, it is not suitable for daily use. This is mainly because, besides its many benefits, the more frequently it is used, the more likely it is to damage oral health and cause many hazards. Therefore, it is not recommended to use mouthwash frequently.

1. Long-term use of mouthwash kills beneficial bacteria in the oral cavity. Mouthwash indeed has a strong cleaning effect, effectively removing residues and tartar in the oral cavity, thereby playing a good role in sterilization and disinfection. However, because of such a strong cleaning effect, overuse can also destroy the beneficial bacteria in the oral cavity, causing the oral cavity to lose protection and making it more susceptible to oral infections and diseases. The reason for this hazard lies mainly in the bactericide chlorhexidine contained in mouthwash. This bactericide has a strong sterilization effect but cannot distinguish between beneficial and harmful bacteria. Therefore, such a non-discriminatory and non-sensitive sterilization effect can damage oral health and cause the oral cavity to lose protection.

2. Daily use of mouthwash increases the risk of stroke. Beneficial bacteria in the oral cavity can secrete sufficient nitrite components, which have a crucial impact on human health, effectively regulating vascular health, promoting vascular dilation, and thus playing a role in protecting the heart. However, if this function in the oral cavity is destroyed by the habit of using mouthwash every day, it can easily cause the body to lose this health regulation function, making it more likely to develop heart disease and stroke.

3. Mouthwash can lead to oral diseases. Long-term use of mouthwash can cause an imbalance in the oral flora, and mouthwash contains a large amount of irritant ingredients, mainly referring to alcohol and other chemical components. Therefore, if the oral cavity is stimulated by these components for a long time, it can easily damage the oral mucosa, leading to symptoms such as weakened taste and reduced saliva secretion. Over time, this can easily lead to oral diseases and even oral cancer.

Although mouthwash has brought many conveniences to people's lives and can help them achieve better oral cleanliness, from a health perspective, mouthwash cannot replace brushing. Moreover, daily use of mouthwash can cause many hazards. Therefore, to maintain oral cleanliness, the goal can actually be achieved by brushing twice a day without the need to use mouthwash every day.