You brush and floss your teeth regularly. You even rinse use mouthwash to keep you mouth feeling fresh. You avoid foods that stain your teeth, yet you still seem to have stains. Could it be the mouthwash you’re using?

A small percentage of people experience brown discoloration of their teeth due to the ingredients.

There are two ingredients used in mouthwashes; Chlorhexidine and Cetylpyridinium chloride.

Chlorohexidine is available by prescription only. This mouth rinse is used to help treat gum disease. Although this is only used for a short period of time, it has been know to cause teeth staining. The stains are not permanent however can only be removed by a visit to your friendly dentist.

Cetylpyridinium chloride is the common ingredient in some over the counter mouthwashes. Some of these mouthwashes include Cepecol, Scope and Crest Pro-health rinse among others. Like Chlorohexidine this ingredient is also know to cause temporary staining of your teeth.

What’s disturbing is that on the Crest Pro-health website FAQ’s the reason they don’t inform consumers about potential staining is that they meet the FDA’s standards and that there are other products on the market that stain teeth as well that do not carry warning labels.

I do give them credit for addressing the teeth staining issue; I could not find any information on the issue on the Scope website or Cepecol. However, the manner in which they answered the question is not what I would expect from a brand that I have trusted all my life. Maybe if these companies would focus more on brand trust as opposed to brand recognition, consumers would not feel taken advantage of.

The main reason why we use mouthwash is because we fail to brush and floss our teeth properly. What mouthwash does is freshen your breath and kill the bacteria that causes cavities and gum disease.

You can freshen your breath naturally, chew on a sprig of spearmint or parsley. Brush after meals or snacks. If that is not possible, swish some water around your mouth. Cloves are known for their antibacterial properties, chew of few cloves to freshen your breath and kill bacteria. Pregnant women should check with their doctor as there are some natural herbs and spices that are not recommended for use during pregnancy.

Whether to use mouthwash or not is a personal choice, however if you have good dental hygiene there is no need for it. When you leave your dentist office the things he hands you are a toothbrush and a trial size of floss, not mouthwash.