Mouthwash is an integral part of the total oral healthcare whether or not you have diabetes. In fact, diabetics are more susceptible to gum and oral infections. For this reason, mouthwash seems like a perfect solution to the oral health problems.

No doubt, when you use a prescription product under the guidance of your dentist, you are more likely to be in the safe zone. However, for the individuals who are not diabetics, rinsing their mouth frequently with an over-the-counter product could boost the risk of diabetes.

What Recent Study Says about Diabetes Risk and Frequent Mouthwash Use

This surprising finding comes from a very recent study published in the journal Nitric Oxide. The study included 1206 overweight/obese individuals, aged 40-65 who had no diabetes and major heart diseases during the study. Over a 3-year follow-up, the researchers analyzed the data of 945 patients. Guess what did they find?

Participants who used mouthwash more than twice daily had a significantly increased risk of diabetes and prediabetes. Prediabetes is a condition when the blood sugar levels are high, but a full-blown type 2 diabetes has not developed yet.

Interestingly, the elevated risk did not seem to have an association with other risk factors. For example, smoking status, income, dietary habits, oral conditions, and obesity.

Another significant finding of the study is that mouthwash use less than 2 times a day has no association with diabetes risk. What does this mean to you? For the moment, we may say the threshold for the risk is the use of mouthwash two times a day. Meaning, any use less than the threshold does not increase the risk.

Diabetes Risk and Frequent Mouthwash Use: What Could be the Underlying Cause for an Increased Risk?

The most probable reason for this unlikely link is that antibacterial mouthwash contains chemicals that could destroy oral microbes. Of those killed germs, some are necessary for the formation of nitric oxide. Lowered levels of nitric oxide could be indicative of insulin resistance, a strong predictor of type 2 diabetes.

The Bottom Line

If you are using an over-the-counter mouthwash, make sure not to use it more than 2 times a day. Also, talk to your dentist about other options for the over-the-counter product.