ReviewInternational dental journal2023
Mouthwash Effects on the Oral Microbiome: Are They Good, Bad, or Balanced?
Review in International dental journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Development of oral dysbiosis following use of antimicrobial mouthwashes: a systematic review.Odontology · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of Adjunctive Use of Commercial Daily Mouthwashes on Periodontal Health: An Umbrella Review.Journal of clinical periodontology · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the Oral Resistome: From Metagenomics to Precision Oral Health.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Article
- Associations between oral microbiome diversity and rheumatoid arthritis in U.S. adults: NHANES 2009-2012.Acta odontologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Clinical Status and Salivary aMMP-8 Evaluation of 0.12% Chlorhexidine Versus MicroRepairDentistry journal · 2026Article
- A Narrative Review of Oral Hygiene and Pulmonary Health Amid Dysphagia: Implications for Feeding Route, Nutrition, and Quality of Life.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Effect of Antiseptic Mouthwash/Gargling Solutions on SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load: A Randomized Clinical Trial.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Bletilla striata polysaccharides promote the proliferation and migration of human gingival fibroblasts on titanium surfaces via the PI3K/AKT pathway: a preliminary in vitro study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- An Oxygen-Releasing Mouthwash Reduces Porphyromonas gingivalis Biofilm and Suppresses fimA and hagA Expression.International dental journal · 2026Article
- Periodontitis Prevalence in a West African Sub-Population Using Two Definitions: A Cross-Sectional Study in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).Oral health & preventive dentistry · 2026Article
- Article
- Construction and simulation-experimental characterization of a fluorescence image-based finite element model for cell mechanics.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Drugstore or discount? A study on fluoride, pH and acidity of commercial mouthwashes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- The Toothbrushing Boost Toolbox: competence-building behavioral strategies for oral health.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- The Role of Saliva and Mouthwashes in the Detection and Reduction of Oral Viral Load: A Scoping Review.Viruses · 2025Article
- Octenidine Lozenges Intended for Oral Administration Display In Vitro Activity Against Oropharyngeal Pathogens and Safety Toward Intestinal Microbiota.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- The butterfly effect: collateral damage and impacts of antimicrobial strategies on the oral microbiome.npj antimicrobials and resistance · 2025Review
- The Hygienic Significance of Microbiota and Probiotics for Human Wellbeing.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Review
- Effects of Antiseptic Formulations on Oral Microbiota and Related Systemic Diseases: A Scoping Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This narrative review describes the oral microbiome, and its role in oral health and disease, before considering the impact of commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) mouthwashes on oral bacteria, viruses, bacteriophages, and fungi that make up these microbial communities in different niches of the mouth. Whilst certain mouthwashes have proven antimicrobial actions and clinical effectiveness supported by robust evidence, this review reports more recent metagenomics evidence, suggesting that mouthwashes such as chlorhexidine may cause "dysbiosis," whereby certain species of bacteria are killed, leaving others, sometimes unwanted, to predominate. There is little known about the effects of mouthwashes on fungi and viruses in the context of the oral microbiome (virome) in vivo, despite evidence that they "kill" certain viral pathogens ex vivo. Evidence for mouthwashes, much like antibiotics, is also emerging with regards to antimicrobial resistance, and this should further be considered in the context of their widespread use by clinicians and patients. Therefore, considering the potential of currently available OTC mouthwashes to alter the oral microbiome, this article finally proposes that the ideal mouthwash, whilst combatting oral disease, should "balance" antimicrobial communities, especially those associated with health. Which antimicrobial mouthwash best fits this ideal remains uncertain.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.