Editing Mouthwash (section)

==History==
[[File:Listerine advertisement, 1932.jpg|thumb|Listerine advertisement, 1932]]{{pb}}
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[[File:Katalog vintern 1905-1906. AB Nordiska Kompaniet. Hår-, Toalett- & Tandvatten, Pomada & Brilliantine - Nordiska Museet - NMA.0040796.jpg|thumb|left|Swedish ad for toiletries, 1905/1906]]
The first known references to mouth rinsing is in [[Ayurveda]]<ref name=pmid21760690>{{cite journal | vauthors = Singh A, Purohit B | title = Tooth brushing, oil pulling and tissue regeneration: A review of holistic approaches to oral health | journal = Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 64–8 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 21760690 | pmc = 3131773 | doi = 10.4103/0975-9476.82525 | doi-access = free }}</ref> for treatment of gingivitis.<ref>{{cite journal |title = Mouthwash: A review for South African health care workers |journal=South African Family Practice |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=121–7 |year=2014 | vauthors = Van Zyl AW, Van Heerden WF | doi = 10.1080/20786204.2010.10873950 |hdl=2263/14207 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Later, in the [[ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] periods, mouth rinsing following mechanical cleansing became common among the upper classes, and [[Hippocrates]] recommended a mixture of salt, [[alum]], and vinegar.<ref name=pmid9643227>{{cite journal | vauthors = Fischman SL | title = The history of oral hygiene products: how far have we come in 6000 years? | journal = Periodontology 2000 | volume = 15 | pages = 7–14 | date = October 1997 | pmid = 9643227 | doi = 10.1111/j.1600-0757.1997.tb00099.x | doi-access = free }}</ref> The Jewish [[Talmud]], dating back about 1,800 years, suggests a cure for gum ailments containing "dough water" and olive oil.<ref name=pmid12389360>{{cite journal | vauthors = Shifman A, Orenbuch S, Rosenberg M | title = Bad breath--a major disability according to the Talmud | journal = The Israel Medical Association Journal | volume = 4 | issue = 10 | pages = 843–5 | date = October 2002 | pmid = 12389360 }}</ref> The ancient Chinese had also gargled salt water, tea and wine as a form of mouthwash after meals, due to the antiseptic properties of those liquids.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-12 |title=Getting to the roots of dentistry in ancient China |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3041650/getting-roots-dentistry-ancient-china-it-wasnt |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref>

Before Europeans came to the Americas, Native North American and Mesoamerican cultures used mouthwashes, often made from plants such as ''[[Coptis trifolia]]''.<ref name=Keoke2002 /> Peoples of the Americas used salt water mouthwashes for sore throats, and other mouthwashes for problems such as [[teething]] and mouth ulcers.<ref name=Keoke2002>{{cite book| vauthors = Keoke ED, Porterfield KM | title=Encyclopedia of American Indian contributions to the world 15,000 years of inventions and innovations|year=2002|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-1-4381-0990-9|page=180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIFTVWJH3doC&q=salt+mouthwash&pg=PA180}}</ref>

[[Anton van Leeuwenhoek]], the famous 17th century [[Microscopy|microscopist]], discovered living organisms (living, because they were mobile) in deposits on the teeth (what we now call [[dental plaque]]). He also found organisms in water from the canal next to his home in Delft. He experimented with samples by adding vinegar or brandy and found that this resulted in the immediate immobilization or killing of the organisms suspended in water. Next he tried rinsing the mouth of himself and somebody else with a mouthwash containing vinegar or brandy and found that living organisms remained in the dental plaque. He concluded—correctly—that the mouthwash either did not reach, or was not present long enough, to kill the plaque organisms.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Lax A |date=27 October 2005 |title=Toxin: The cunning of bacterial poisons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuvRClJOT5EC&q=Leeuwenhoek+dental+plaque+mouthwash&pg=PT27 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-157850-2}}</ref>
In 1892, German [[Richard Seifert (inventor)|Richard Seifert]] invented mouthwash product [[Odol]], which was produced by company founder [[Karl August Lingner]] (1861–1916) in [[Dresden]].<ref>[http://lingner-archiv.jimdo.com/ Lingner-Archiv (German)]</ref>

That remained the state of affairs until the late 1960s when Harald Loe (at the time a professor at the [[Aarhus University|Royal Dental College]] in [[Aarhus]], Denmark) demonstrated that a [[chlorhexidine]] compound could prevent the build-up of dental plaque. The reason for chlorhexidine's effectiveness is that it strongly adheres to surfaces in the mouth and thus remains present in effective concentrations for many hours.<ref name=pmid4575037>{{cite journal | vauthors = Budtz-Jörgensen E, Löe H | title = Chlorhexidine as a denture disinfectant in the treatment of denture stomatitis | journal = Scandinavian Journal of Dental Research | volume = 80 | issue = 6 | pages = 457–64 | year = 1972 | pmid = 4575037 | doi = 10.1111/j.1600-0722.1972.tb00314.x }}</ref>

Since then commercial interest in mouthwashes has been intense and several newer products claim effectiveness in reducing the build-up in dental plaque and the associated severity of gingivitis, in addition to fighting bad breath. Many of these solutions aim to control the volatile sulfur compound–creating anaerobic bacteria that live in the mouth and excrete substances that lead to bad breath and unpleasant mouth taste.<ref name=pmid1552460/><ref name=pmid8794967/><ref name=pmid8133414>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bosy A, Kulkarni GV, Rosenberg M, McCulloch CA | title = Relationship of oral malodor to periodontitis: evidence of independence in discrete subpopulations | journal = Journal of Periodontology | volume = 65 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–46 | date = January 1994 | pmid = 8133414 | doi = 10.1902/jop.1994.65.1.37 }}</ref><ref name=pmid12013345>{{cite journal | vauthors = Loesche WJ, Kazor C | title = Microbiology and treatment of halitosis | journal = Periodontology 2000 | volume = 28 | pages = 256–79 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12013345 | doi = 10.1034/j.1600-0757.2002.280111.x }}</ref><ref name=pmid1499240>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yaegaki K, Sanada K | title = Effects of a two-phase oil-water mouthwash on halitosis | journal = Clinical Preventive Dentistry | volume = 14 | issue = 1 | pages = 5–9 | year = 1992 | pmid = 1499240 }}</ref> For example, the number of mouthwash variants in the United States of America has grown from 15 (1970) to 66 (1998) to 113 (2012).<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1057/dddmp.2013.34 |title=Customers' online shopping preferences in mass customization |journal=Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=20–35 |year=2013 | vauthors = Aichner T, Coletti P |doi-access=free }}</ref>