Dental Library- Mouth Rinse

Alcohol levels in mouth rinses can be dangerous for young children.

While mouth rinses are a common household product, it is not widely known that the alcohol content in mouth rinses can be dangerous to young children, who are easily drawn to giving them a try. Mouth rinses are made to taste good, look colorful, and are available without child-resistant caps. We all know that children like to mimic their parents, and a child seeing a parent use a mouth rinse might want to try it too. Parents and all adults should be aware that high alcohol content could have adverse consequences to their oral health. The high alcohol in mouth rinses can desiccate (dry out) the mucus membranes of their oral cavities giving them the feeling or dry mouth syndrome (zerostomia) and is a significant risk factor in developing oral cancer. Dry mouth syndrome can make it difficult and uncomfortable to chew and swallow food, make it difficult and uncomfortable to speak and decrease the sensation of taste, since food has to be dissolved in saliva for taste buds to detect its flavor.

Ethanol content in many mouth rinses can be pretty high. Even a small amount of mouth rinse with ethanol can achieve a high blood alcohol content in a child very quickly. For example, a small child who drinks a half-cup of mouth rinse, with an ethanol content of 27 per cent (54 proof), is taking-in a dangerous level of ethanol. Also the ethanol used in mouth rinses is denatured. This means that other chemicals are added to it to make it nonfit for human consumption. The industry does this to avoid the high taxes on consumable ethanol and the licensing and regulations required to retail consumable ethanol. The chemicals added to denature the ethanol would cause the person who consumes it to become violently ill usually manifested by vomiting, sweating and tremors. If anyone ingests a mouth rinse call 911 immediately for the poison control center and recommended treatment until help arrives.

Ethanol is absorbed quickly in a child's or an adult's stomach, and just as quickly enters the bloodstream, and immediate medical attention is required. Signs that a child may have alcohol toxicity include sluggishness, incoherentness, irritability, unconsciousness, unresponsiveness and possibly convulsions. If anyone becomes unconscious roll him or her on their side to prevent them from aspirating (choking) on their own vomit. If left on their backs most people who vomit will chock to death.

Children under the age of six do not need to use a mouth rinse for any reason. Mouth rinses with ethanol should be kept out of children's reach. To be safer yet, only mouth rinses that come with child-resistant caps should be purchased. You should also consider purchasing mouth rinses that don't have any alcohol in them. It is safer for both you and your children.

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