Use of Mouthwash in Preventing Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Author(s): Eunice Taeyeon Kim

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a virus that enters the respiratory tract through the nose and mouth affects a wide range of cells and systems of the body, causing various types of symptoms. Therefore, the discovery that the use of mouthwash may help prevent COVID-19 from entering the body is a breakthrough and an area of interest for research. In this report, several research papers about the effects of mouthwash in preventing COVID-19 are evaluated and different types of mouthwash are discussed. In particular, one randomized prospective cohort study presented the promising result of chlorhexidine mouthwash and spray in preventing COVID-19. Despite the result, the number of clinical trials is lacking, and more clinical trials need to be performed to obtain more conclusive clinical evidence that the mouthwash indeed has a preventive effect on SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Coronavirus

1. A. Vergara-Buenaventura and C. Castro-Ruiz. “Use of mouthwashes against COVID-19 in dentistry”. British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial surgery, Vol. 58, No. 8, pp. 924–927, October 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.08.016
2. Gururaj Arakeri and Vishal Rao US. “Methylene blue as an anti-COVID-19 mouthwash in dental practice.” British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 135–136, January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.09.018
3. Y. Hanna Huang and Jong T. Huang. “Use of chlorhexidine to eradicate oropharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients”. Journal of Medical Virology, Vol. 93, No. 7, pp. 4370–4373, July 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.26954
4. Henry Daniell, et al. “Debulking SARS-CoV-2 in saliva using angiotensin converting enzyme 2 in chewing gum to decrease oral virus transmission and infection” (published online ahead of print). Molecular Therapy, November 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.11.008