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Your Mouthwash May Cause Oral Cancer
Claims of a link between antiseptic mouthwash and oral cancer
have divided leading dental experts.
A review article published in the current issue of the Dental
Journal of Australia concludes there is now "sufficient
evidence" that "alcohol-containing mouthwashes contribute
to the increased risk of development of oral cancer".
However, Professor Laurence Walsh, head of the School of Dentistry
at the University of Queensland today said their was no established
link between mouthwash and oral cancer.
In a letter to the editors of the journal, Professor Walsh criticised
the authors of the paper for drawing on a "small and selective
group of studies".
"A wide range of critical and systematic reviews over many
years have failed to show any statistically significant association
between mouthwash use and oral cancer," he said.
"There is certainly nothing in the current paper to change
our thinking in that regard."
According to the article, which is authored by several independent
experts, ethanol in mouthwash is thought to allow cancer-causing
substances to permeate the lining of the mouth more easily and cause
harm.
Acetaldehyde, a toxic by-product of alcohol that may accumulate
in the oral cavity when swished around the mouth, is also believed
to be carcinogenic.
Mouthwash is one of the fastest-growing grocery products in Australia,
with the category now worth more than $75 million, according to
the latest Nielsen market research.
Lead review author Professor Michael McCullough, associate professor
of oral medicine at the University of Melbourne, said that that
alcohol-containing mouthwash should be reclassified as prescription-only
and carry written health warnings.
