All About Chlorine Dioxide Rinses

There are many mouth rinses available on the market that claim to reduce the effects of halitosis, or bad breath for individuals. Very few of these live up to the expectations in their advertisements. One ingredient that has proven clinically effective in reducing breath odor is Chlorine Dioxide.

Chorine Dioxide, and the chemical it derives from, sodium chlorite, can play a critical role in reducing bad breath in a couple different ways. First, chlorine dioxide releases oxygen, and because most of the bacteria that cause bad breath prefer to be in an environment without oxygen, their numbers are effectively controlled.

Second, chlorine dioxide has a huge effect on the level of VSC’s contained in a person’s mouth. VSC’s, or volatile sulfur compounds, are the primary culprits for bad breath. Chlorine dioxide neutralizes VSC’s already created by bacteria, and then breaks down the bacteria that create the compounds in the first place. The result: consistently fresher breath.

Many of the products available with Chlorine dioxide are actually a solution made with its parent compound, sodium chlorite. “Real” chlorine dioxide breaks down very quickly and hasn’t been made commercially viable until the past few years. During the 1970’s, a number of products popped up on the market with “stabilized chlorine dioxide”, which is a different name for sodium chlorite.

Although not many clinical studies have been done to test the effectiveness of “stabilized chlorine dioxide”, a study done in which participants used TheraBreath brand “stabilized chlorine dioxide” products, two separate tests, a Halimeter and Flame Gas Chromatography both showed substantial reductions of VSC’s.

In 1992, Dr. Jon L. Richter developed a way to produce mouth rinse with chlorine dioxide that was able to stay active for as long as six months. The formula becomes activated as soon as the customer opens the bottle. So far, only the ProFresh Company holds the patent for this process, and is the only one with “pure” chlorine dioxide on the market. Recent studies show that pure chlorine dioxide is much more effective than its “stabilized” sodium chlorite counterpart.

Chlorine dioxide rinses, stabilized or otherwise, along with chlorhexidine, seem to be the most effective chemical combinations for combating halitosis. Chlorhexidine, while effective, is not recommended for long term use because it’s simply too strong. It also discolors teeth in the short term. Chlorine dioxide hasn’t produced any of those side effects, and has been recommended for long term use.

Whether it’s stabilized, or in its pure form, using chlorine dioxide rinses can be a sure-fire method to get to the root of even the toughest halitosis problems.