Most people use mouthwash to keep their breath fresh and their mouths clean. It’s a normal part of many people’s daily routine, often seen as a simple way to fight harmful bacteria and reduce the risk of gum disease.
But what if using mouthwash could also affect something as serious as your blood pressure? It sounds surprising, but recent studies suggest that this might actually be true.
Blood pressure is the force that moving blood puts on your blood vessels. It’s an important measure of health. When blood pressure is too high, it increases the risk of serious problems like heart disease and stroke. While many people know that food, exercise, and stress can affect blood pressure, few expect their mouthwash to play a role too.
To understand how mouthwash and blood pressure might be connected, we need to look at the helpful bacteria living in your mouth. These bacteria don’t just hang around doing nothing—they help your body in unexpected ways.
One of their important jobs is helping your body make something called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a natural compound that helps relax blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily and keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range.
Here’s how it works: when you eat vegetables like spinach, lettuce, or beetroot, your body takes in nitrates. The good bacteria in your mouth convert these nitrates into nitrites, which your body then uses to make nitric oxide. But if you kill off those helpful bacteria, your body can’t make nitric oxide as easily—and that’s where mouthwash comes in.
Mouthwash is designed to kill germs in your mouth, but it isn’t very selective. It can wipe out both harmful and beneficial bacteria. When people use mouthwash too often—especially strong, antibacterial kinds—it may reduce the number of bacteria needed to make nitric oxide.
Without enough nitric oxide, your blood vessels can become tighter and narrower, which may lead to higher blood pressure.
In one study, published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, people who used mouthwash twice a day for just one week had a noticeable increase in their blood pressure. Another study in the Journal of Blood Pressure found that people who used mouthwash over a longer period also showed higher blood pressure levels compared to those who didn’t.
These findings don’t mean you should throw away your mouthwash. Good oral hygiene is still important. Mouthwash can be helpful, especially for preventing gum disease or when recommended by a dentist.
But if you’re someone who already has high blood pressure, or if you’re trying to lower it naturally, it might be worth thinking about how often you use mouthwash.
Instead of using it every morning and night just out of habit, consider using it only when needed—such as after meals or when brushing alone isn’t enough. Also, talking with your dentist or doctor about the kind of mouthwash that’s best for you could help you protect both your mouth and your heart.
In the end, this research is a good reminder that everything in the body is connected. What seems like a small decision—like swishing mouthwash—can have effects beyond your mouth. It shows how science is always learning new things about the ways our bodies work. And it highlights the value of balanced, thoughtful health habits.
So next time you rinse, take a moment to consider not just your smile, but your heart health too.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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