Breath spray explained

Breath spray is a product sprayed into the mouth for the purpose of temporarily eliminating or at least covering up bad breath. The masking effect is short-term^[1] and reported to last for 4-6 hours.^{[2] [3]} Breath sprays are occasionally advertised as being for smokers or those who dip tobacco, and occasionally to cover up the smell of cigarette/cigar smoking.^[4] Common flavours include cinnamon, spearmint and peppermint, as well as company-specific flavors, such as "Ice Mint", "Cool Mint" or "Supermint".

Some breath sprays are purported by their manufacturers to have antibacterial or anti-plaque properties, containing ingredients, such as chlorine dioxide,^[5] chlorhexidine,^[6] cetylpyridinium chloride,^[7] essential oils, hinokitiol,^[8] and zinc ions. As alcohol is frequently a prime ingredient of breath sprays, some brands advertise their products as alcohol-free. Alcohol is thought to be responsible for causing dry mouth when alcohol-containing breath sprays or mouthwashes are used too frequently.^{[9] [10]} Some brands also advocate for using sugar-free formulations considering the disadvantageous consequences of sugar of causing caries.^[11]

Notes and References

1. Kapoor . Uditi . Sharma . Gaurav . Juneja . Manish . Nagpal . Archna . Halitosis: Current concepts on etiology, diagnosis and management . European Journal of Dentistry . April 2016 . 10 . 2 . 292–300 . 10.4103/1305-7456.178294. 27095913 . 4813452 . free .
2. Jose . A . Siddiqi . M . Cronin . M . DiLauro . TS . Bosma . ML . A randomized clinical trial in subjects with dry mouth evaluating subjective perceptions of an experimental oral gel, an oral rinse and a mouth spray compared to water. . American Journal of Dentistry . February 2016 . 29 . 1 . 58–64 . 27093778.
3. Saad . S . Gomez-Pereira . P . Hewett . K . Horstman . P . Patel . J . Greenman . J . Daily reduction of oral malodor with the use of a sonic tongue brush combined with an antibacterial tongue spray in a randomized cross-over clinical investigation . Journal of Breath Research . 12 February 2016 . 10 . 1 . 016013 . 10.1088/1752-7155/10/1/016013. 26869586 . 2016JBR....10a6013S . free .
4. Web site: Smokers Breath: Causes & Solutions . UltraDEX . 2020-12-21 . 2020-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920152515/https://ultradex.co.uk/smokers-breath-causes-solutions/ . live .
5. Web site: Closys II Breath Spray . www.saveyoursmile.com . 2004-10-06 . 2020-02-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200207112824/http://www.saveyoursmile.com/products/fb/closysbreathspray.html . live .
6. Web site: Corsodyl 0.2% spray . www.corsodyl.co.uk . 2020-12-21 . 2021-01-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210118224912/https://www.corsodyl.co.uk/products/corsodyl/spray/ . live .
7. Web site: Philips Sonicare BreathRX . Philips . en-us . 2020-12-21 . 2022-12-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221205065518/https://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-pe/dental-professionals/products/oral-hygiene/philips-sonicare-breathrx . live .
8. Web site: The Science . Dr ZinX . en . 2020-12-21 . 2020-11-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120203948/https://www.drzinx.com/ingredients . dead .
9. Web site: Dry mouth treatment: Tips for controlling dry mouth . Mayo Clinic . en . 2020-12-21 . 2020-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201218160541/https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-mouth/expert-answers/dry-mouth/faq-20058424 . live .
10. News: Breath fresheners: Making sense of mints, gum, sprays and rinses . Vital Record . en . 2020-12-21 . 2020-10-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201028111138/https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/breath-fresheners-making-sense-of-mints-gum-sprays-and-rinses/ . live .
11. Web site: Is Alcohol-free, Sugar-free Breath Spray Okay to Use with Invisalign? . Gorton & Schmohl Orthodontics . 23 May 2017 . 21 December 2020 . 29 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129230625/https://marinortho.com/alcohol-free-sugar-free-breath-spray-use-invisalign/ . live .