ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the chemical properties of some commercially available mouthwashes and to ascertain whether the mouthwashes accelerated mineral loss in dental enamel. Five commercially available mouthwashes were selected from the three largest malls in Korea: Perio Total 7 Aqua Cool Mint Strong FreshTM (PS; LG Household & Health Care Ltd.), Garglin OriginalTM (Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Garglin ZeroTM (Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Listerine Naturals CitrusTM (LC; IDS Manufacturing Ltd.), and Listerine Cool MintTM (LM; IDS Manufacturing Ltd.). The composition, pH, and titratable acidity of the mouthwashes were investigated. Six bovine teeth specimens were prepared for each mouthwash group. Each of the six specimens was individually immersed in 30 ml aliquots of mouthwash for 1 minute, 30 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes, and the samples were placed in a 36.5℃ stirred incubator. The degree of mineral loss (ΔF) of the tooth surface area exposed to mouthwash, compared with normal teeth, was analyzed by quantitative light-induced fluorescence-digital. The difference in ΔF among mouthwash groups was examined by the Kruskal-Wallis H test (α=0.05). The contents of mouthwashes differed between Listerine and other products, and the pH ranged from 4.09 to 6.75. The titratable acidity of PS was the lowest at 0.63 ml and highest at 9.25 ml for LM. Minor mineral loss was observed when dental specimens were immersed in the Listerine products (LC and LM) for more than 90 minutes, but the degree of mineral loss for Listerine products was not statistically significantly different from that for groups without mineral loss. In conclusion, all five commercially available mouthwashes showed no harmful effects on tooth enamel.