At the moment, there is little evidence to support the use of a mouth rinse to completely rid COVID19 from the oral cavity. Part of the problem is that our saliva is continually flowing. Just as once we wash our hands, we must wash again as soon as we touch something new. After we rinse our mouths, we may be able to reduce bacterial and viral load temporarily, but we must rinse again to keep the bacteria down and the viral load reduced because new saliva will enter the mouth over and over throughout a day. We do know that there are some mouth rinses that demonstrate virucidal activity: iodine, hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite. Hydrogen Peroxide is commercial availability and the taste is reasonable. We prefer the use of CTx4 Treatment Rinse by CariFree, which includes sodium hypochlorite, fluoride, xylitol, and has a neutral pH. The CTx4 Treatment rinse has been proven to reduce streptococcus mutans and other cariogenic bacteria, as well as to be virucidal. CTx4 is sold in our dental office. We always recommend the use of a mouth rinse with a high pH, as cavities form in our teeth in an acidic environment. We need to counteract any acid (low pH) by using products with a high or neutral pH.
As our practice begins to reopen and we adapt new protocols to help keep our patients and team members safe, we will be asking our patients to pre-rinse before dental treatment. The goal of pre-rinsing is to help to decrease bacterial and viral load in the oral cavity, even if temporarily.
