{"id":176069,"date":"2025-12-09T21:33:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/176069\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T21:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:33:06","slug":"garlic-mouth-wash-the-science-says-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/176069\/","title":{"rendered":"Garlic Mouth Wash? The Science Says Yes"},"content":{"rendered":"

It turns out that in addition to keeping vampires away, garlic might also have decent mouthwashing capabilities.<\/p>\n

A team of researchers has conducted a review of past studies regarding garlic extract\u2019s potential as an antimicrobial mouthwash compared to chlorhexidine, the current standard. While further research is necessary, they concluded that it can indeed serve as a viable alternative, particularly in higher concentrations. The side effects described by the researchers, however, failed to address what a garlic-based mouthwash would mean for one\u2019s romantic life. Maybe that\u2019ll be for the next review.<\/p>\n

A natural alternative? <\/p>\n

Antimicrobial mouthwashes are used to treat bacterial, fungal, and viral oral diseases impacting the mouth\u2019s hard or soft tissues. Patients can use them for gingivitis, cavities, periodontal diseases, and even halitosis\u2014a.k.a. bad breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cChlorhexidine is widely used as a gold standard mouthwash but is associated with side effects and concerns over antimicrobial resistance. Garlic (Allium sativum), known for natural antimicrobial properties, has emerged as a potential alternative, though clinical evidence remains limited,\u201d the researchers, all from the University of Sharjah\u2019s College of Dental Medicine, wrote in a review article<\/a> published this fall in the Journal of Herbal Medicine. \u201cThis systematic review compares the antimicrobial efficacy of garlic extract with chlorhexidine in clinical practice, assessing its viability as a herbal substitute,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

From an initial pool of over 400 articles, the team narrowed the selection down to five, and their review revealed that higher concentrations of garlic extract mouthwash exhibited antimicrobial capabilities comparable to chlorhexidine. Chlorhexidine is a common synthetic antimicrobial agent effective in different medical and dental contexts. Garlic, the vegetable virtually everyone knows and loves, is frequently used as an herb and spice and is one of the strongest naturally occurring antibacterial and antifungal crops. While garlic extract can cause side effects, they\u2019re usually less intense than side effects linked to synthetic chemicals.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, \u201cthe effectiveness varied based on mouthwash concentration and duration of application, contributing to differences in outcomes,\u201d the researchers wrote. \u201cSome studies favored chlorhexidine for maintaining higher plaque\/salivary pH, while others reported garlic extract to be more effective at certain concentrations. However, garlic mouthwash may cause greater discomfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Side effects <\/p>\n

The papers reported side effects such as a burning sensation and unpleasant odor. Unsurprisingly, this might impact people\u2019s inclination to drop chlorhexidine for a vampire-resistant alternative. Garlic extracts, however, are more easily accessible than chlorhexidine and similar synthetic agents, which usually necessitate a prescription. They are commonly accessible in a number of over-the-counter health products. What\u2019s more, mouthwash with garlic extract seems to have more lasting residual effects than chlorhexidine.<\/p>\n

Overall, \u201cgarlic extract mouthwash demonstrated clinical antimicrobial effectiveness, with significant reductions in bacterial counts from baseline,\u201d the researchers explained. Their review indicates that, in certain situations, garlic extract mouthwash could be a possible alternative to antiseptics and disinfectants such as chlorhexidine, which remains the gold standard mouthwash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese studies have contributed to understanding the antimicrobial role of garlic extract in comparison to synthetic agents like chlorhexidine,\u201d they continued. However, \u201cfurther clinical studies with larger samples and longer follow-up are needed to confirm effectiveness and improve clinical applicability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone also needs to check in on the potential for garlic breath.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It turns out that in addition to keeping vampires away, garlic might also have decent mouthwashing capabilities. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[4701,134,524,50382,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-176069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-diseases","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-medication","11":"tag-microbes","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}