Alcohol-containing Mouthwash and Oral Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review Mathew Shibu Thomas* Department of Endodontics, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia *Address for Correspondence: Dr. Shibu Thomas Mathew, Department of Endodontics, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Phone: +(0)966-509136903. E-mail: shibust_mathew@rediffmail.com
Online published on 5 October, 2015. Abstract Aim The aim of this article is to assess any possible risk of oral cancer with increased usage of alcohol-based mouthwashes and to provide relevant information regarding the safety of using alcohol-containing mouth rinses. Materials and Methods Several controversial studies regarding the prolonged use of such mouthwashes containing >25% alcohol causes oral cancers, have been reviewed and undertaken. Analyzing the number of studies done till date, it showed debatable views on the use of alcohol-containing mouthwashes and its relation with causing oral cancers. Many studies supported the use of alcohol-based mouthwashes can cause oral cancer, while few studies showed no significant relation of mouthwashes with oral cancers. Conclusion To conclude, the relation between mouthwashes containing alcohol and oral cancers is still a contentious issue in the scientific community. On comparing the available reviews, it proved that prolonged use of alcohol-based mouthwashes might cause oral cancers. Thus, it's advisable for the clinicians to educate patients about the ill-effects of long-term use of alcohol-based mouthwashes and to minimize the number of times it's used per day. And to prefer the use of nonalcohol-based mouthwashes instead of the former. Top Keywords Alcohol, mouthwash, oral cancer, tobacco smoking. Top |