Comment by Jimmc414 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Jimmc414 | Hacker News Reader

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Actually, research implies the opposite conclusion may be true and overcleaning your mouth may increase disease risk.

I’m guessing it might be explained by the hygiene hypothesis.

The oral microbiome needs balance, not sterilization.

[0] Mouthwash ≥2x/day → 55% increased diabetes risk Nitric Oxide journal, 2017

[1] Mouthwash ≥2x/day → 117% increased hypertension risk Blood Pressure Journal, 2020

[2] 7 days chlorhexidine mouthwash → 90% reduction in oral nitrite, BP increased 2-3.5 mmHg Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 2013

[3] Daily mouthwash → OR 1.31 for head/neck cancer European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2016

[4] Listerine Cool Mint increased Fusobacterium nucleatum and Streptococcus anginosus (bacteria linked to colorectal cancer) Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2024

People lie about smoking and drinking also use mouthwash to help conceal their secret(s). Plausible?

Yes, thats plausible and the INHANCE consortium even suggested this. However the mechanism for the effect on BP can be explained by antiseptic rinses impairing the nitrate‑nitrite‑NO axis

They might also use mouthwash after another activity that involves possible HPV transmission.

Kissing a middle age woman (or other high risk person)? Very true, but it antecedes as often as it succeeds kissing, depending on whether it antecedes or succeeds marriage vows. Ever smell a husband’s breath?

The research doesn’t really imply any conclusion. You can’t cherry pick 4 studies that show an association (not causal connection) and use it as a plausible argument.

Fair point about association vs causation. To clarify, these studies don’t prove mouthwash causes these conditions, but the pattern across multiple independent studies in different populations suggests we shouldn’t assume ‘more cleaning = automatically better.

I wonder how many mouthwash users do so because they are trying to compensate for another issue.

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