DISPELLING THE MYTH: ALCOHOL-CONTAINING MOUTHRINSES AND ORAL CANCER.

ALCOHOL-CONTAINING RINSES HAVE NO LINK TO ORAL CANCER.

There are some people who still believe that alcohol-containing mouthrinses may increase the risk of developing oropharyngeal cancer, or OPC. As an oral healthcare professional, you’re most likely aware that this is just a myth. However, you may not be familiar with the wealth of evidence that effectively dispels this myth.^1-4

To be as informed as possible about this topic, you may want to take a look at the evidence presented below—so you can most effectively address any potential concerns or questions your patients may express to you.

In fact, quite a few clinical studies resulted in similar conclusions:

Food and Drug Administration. 2003 Federal Register. 2003;68(103):32,232-32,287¹:

• FDA subcommittee reviewed 7 case-control studies
• Conclusion: “Data do not support a causal relationship between the use of alcohol-containing mouthrinses and oral cancer. The vote was unanimous...”

Cole et al. Journal of the American Dental Association. 2003;34(8):1079-1087²:  

• Review of 9 case-control studies, published in JADA 
• Finding: Alcohol-containing mouthwash does not increase risk of oropharyngeal cancer 

La Vecchia et al. Oral Oncology. 2009;45:198-200³:  

• Critical review of published data 
• Finding: Link between mouthwash use (specifically alcohol-containing mouthwash) and oral cancer is not supported by epidemiological evidence 

Boyle et al. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology. 2011; 112;(6):e130⁴:  

• Finding: No association between the use of mouthwash containing alcohol and oral cancer risk

Alcohol: How an inactive ingredient delivers the active ingredients.

It’s also important to note that, while alcohol is an inactive ingredient, it actually plays a very important role in the effectiveness of essential-oil-containing mouthrinses such as LISTERINE^® Antiseptic:

• It acts as a vehicle for delivering the active ingredients, by enabling the essential oils to penetrate plaque biofilm and bacterial communities
• It also acts as a solvent to help solubilize the ingredients
• The delivery of these essential oils is integral to reducing plaque and gingivitis⁵

Recommend with confidence.

With the above evidence, it’s more than clear that there is no credible link between alcohol-containing mouthrinses and oral cancer. And, with more than 30 long-term clinical trials examining its safety and efficacy, no other over-the-counter (OTC) mouthwash brand in the world has been tested as extensively as LISTERINE^® Antiseptic.⁶ Most importantly, armed with this information you can feel confident when recommending a LISTERINE^® product to your patients, including the most skeptical among them.

For further information on the overall proven safety and tolerability of LISTERINE^® mouthrinses, please click here.

We hope you found this article of value.