Helping Your Smile Stay Healthier with an Oral Rinse

Are you brushing twice a day and flossing once daily? If so, your smile is on its way to avoiding tooth decay and gum disease. But you can help your smile stay even healthier by adding an oral rinse (mouthwash) that is therapeutic in nature. An oral rinse is strictly a supplement to your toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss of choice, it isn’t a replacement for them. However, it can reach the areas of the mouth that your toothbrush can’t. Together, they make a formidable team.

So, what can therapeutic mouthwashes do for you? They can supplement your daily efforts to lower dental plaque, gingivitis, bad breath, and tooth decay, and even treat pain from oral sores and relieve dry mouth. Therapeutic mouthwashes are available both over-the-counter as well as prescribed by your dentist. With prescription rinses, dosage, length of time to keep in the mouth, and usage frequency will be provided.

For over-the-counter oral rinses, be sure to look for the ADA Seal of Acceptance displayed on the packaging. This represents both safety and effectiveness, the manufacturers having passed rigorous testing.

Cosmetic oral rinses can make your breath smell better temporarily, but they lack the ingredients to actively kill oral bacteria which causes bad breath. Conversely, therapeutic rinses actively control or reduce bad breath, gingivitis, plaque, and tooth decay in your mouth.

Helping your smile stay healthier can be done daily, along with having professional dental cleanings every six months. If you would like to schedule your next dental cleaning, our dentist, Dr. Jason Pujo, is happy to help. We invite you to call Merrimack Valley Dentistry in Dracut, Massachusetts, at 978-957-1898 today!