We’ve all been there, 7:45 and you gotta rush to your 8am. You don’t have time to brush your teeth, but for the sake of all your neighbors you need some kind of mouth product. You ran out of gum, so the only solution is mouthwash. But, could this mouthwash slowly be giving you cancer?
First, let’s describe the different types of mouthwash. An article from a dental insurance website talks about the different types of mouthwash. According to the article, there are 3 types of mouthwashes. “Mouthwash with fluorine, Cosmetic mouthwash, and Antiseptic mouthwash”. Fluorine helps fight tooth decay, Cosmetic mouthwashes simply “reduce or mask bad breath”, and Antiseptic mouthwash “attacks plaque on your teeth”. So for starters, there are many different types of mouthwash you can buy, but according to the article, only the mouthwash with alcohol could cause cancer.
According to this research page, there is a positive link between alcohol and mouth cancer, but most of the article describes the increased risk of mouth cancer when alcohol is mixed with tobacco products. Alcohol “dehydrates the cells”, creating more nicotine absorption through the skin. As for mouthwash, this article states that “no correlation” was found in the studies quoted. After much research, I was unable to find any definitive studies linking mouthwash to oral cancer. Since I already wrote so much of this blog, i’d hate to delete it all because of a lack of study.
If I were to create a study to test this, I wold begin with a randomized control trial. I would find a sample to represent a population of men and women ages 25-35, and would assign half a generic non-alcoholic mouthwash to use regularly, and the other half an alcoholic mouthwash to use. After 5 years, I would check to see if the odds of mouth cancer increased. To avoid any “Z” factors in the experiment, I would also track drinking, and any tobacco use, as these are also known to increase risk of oral cancer.
This post does not really answer the quesion that author stated. The author said that cancer may be caused by mix of tobacco and alcohol, but as eveybody knows tobacco products increase chance of getting cancer anyway. There is no evidence that mouthwash also has something to do with it.
I found this topic a little odd, especially when it came to talking about an increase in cancer chance when mouth wash is paired with tobacco products. It is clear from other studies that tobacco products cause cancer themselves. I do not think that there is a correlation between the two products. I think the study that you linked in was part of the “by chance” category in experiments. I like that you decided to share what you would do and how you would conduct an experiment. My first question is why did you choose the age group that you did? At the beginning of the blog you were targeting college students and most of them are way younger than 25-35. I do agree that it would need to be a controlled experiment, but could it be seen as unethical due to the fact you’re dealing with humans and potentially increasing the chance for them to get cancer. For third variables, I think you would also have to track the amount of usage as well. If not, your results could be effected if the aren’t using it everyday. This topic leaves me think and I would be open to believing that mouthwash could cause cancer, but right now there is not enough information to persuade me into believing it.
I’m a bit confused about the link between the alcohol in the mouthwash and the increased risk of cancer of the mouth. You said the risk increases when alcohol is mixed with tobacco products, but nearly all tobacco products increase the risk of cancer anyways. What does the mouthwash have to do with this? I think this is an interesting topic, though, and am kind of surprised that there aren’t more studies on it. Maybe that will increase in the future because if there is actually a link, it is necessary that it be discovered sooner than later.