Effect of rinsing with ethanol-containing mouthrinses on the production of salivary acetaldehyde

It has been suggested that the use of alcohol-containing mouthrinses could lead to the presence of acetaldehyde in saliva. In this cross-over study, salivary acetaldehyde levels and microbial profiles were determined before and after rinsing with ethanol-containing mouthrinses with essential oils (EO) and cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) as the active ingredients, and with 21.6% ethanol and water controls. After rinsing with all ethanol-containing rinses, acetaldehyde was detected in saliva after 30 s but declined to low levels after 5 min. The highest peak levels were seen with the ethanol control (median = 82.9 μM at 2 min) and were significantly higher than those seen at the same time after rinsing with the EO rinse (43.1 μM). There was no correlation between microbial counts or plaque scores and acetaldehyde levels, although dividing the subjects on the basis of a peak acetaldehyde salivary concentration of > 90.8 μM after the ethanol rinse revealed that the high responders were highly significantly more likely to harbour salivary yeasts than were the low responders. Rinsing with ethanol-containing mouthrinses causes a rapid, but transient, increase in salivary acetaldehyde levels.