I've seen research correlating poor oral health with increased chance of cardiovascular disease. I have NOT seen any research proving this is causal. COuld be that people with unhealthy immune systems are likely to be unhealthy in multiple ways.

Anyway, I once tried mouth wash and immediately decided that stuff is vile. I am not yet convinced it is in my best interest to swish bad tasting chemicals in my mouth on a regular basis. Also, those who eat less sugar and starch tend to have less oral health trouble in the first place.

All that being said, I have recentlly begun trying out oil pulling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_pulling . Basically, you just swish some natural oil in your mouth for a bit instead of swishing regular mouth wash. This really does seem to help keep my mouth cleaner. I use natural coconut oil. There are a lot of wild claims about oil pulling curing all kinds of ailments. I suspect most of that is likely bunk. However, there has been some research suggesting that oil pulling can reduce levels mouth bacteria by quite a but. And this is not surprising because many oils, including coconut, have been shown to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal effects. So in my opinion, oil pulling is like nature's own mouthwash! It also leaves an interesting clean and nice feel to my mouth afterwards. It did, however, take a few days to get used to putting oil in my mouth, but I found if I added a tad of cinnamon or other flavor, that made it MUCH easier. (other people have also suggested mint or citrus as good additives)

I've heard that certain mouth bacteria can attack the heart, but I think it's related to an infection, or plaque, or something like that. I've stopped using mouthwash because I realized that when it was killing bacteria, that it was killing the good bacteria too, plus I didn't know what half the stuff in it even did. Conventional mouthwash also dries your mouth out which tends to allow bad bacteria to proliferate (much like taking anti-biotics kills them off first, but then the bad guys move back in and take over).

My breath isn't that super-healthy "sweet" breath, but after I switched to a natural, coconut oil based tooth cleaner (Tropical Traditions) and stopped using mouthwash (except when it's REALLY bad- though then I usually just chew a piece of gum), my breath has definitely improved. I personally think that getting away from the conventional mouth care stuff is pretty important. I've read many articles with experts quoted as saying that it's the act of brushing that cleans your teeth, not the stuff you put on the brush, but I feel like I need an extra boost, so I'm currently using the Tropical Traditions, and the next one that I'm trying is Kiss My Face, fluoride, Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate, and baking soda free. There are plenty of natural mouthwashes on the market, and there are probably a lot of recipes that you could make at home, though. I wouldn't worry about not using mouthwash for health reasons, but a happy home life is much more important!

i don't think so. i've never in my life been in the habit of using it. if you brush and floss, and eat right, you are golden. don't forget to brush your tongue!

p.s. even though i don't use mouthwash and i am kind of an 'irregular flosser' (aherm), i have only been to the dentist twice in the past 15 years and have no problems and no tartar! cleeean livin..

Do you even know that the mouthwash is? I would be scared to put random chemicals in my mouth to swish around.

Dentistry is a joke. The heart thing sounds scary, but these people are usually idiots. They're out there to compensate for shitty lifestyles. None of their shit applies to people who ACTUALLY do the paleo thing.

Shit like that heart thing persist because they really are legitimately scary. Just think, there's no profit/loss test for you to figure out whether the mouthwash works UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE. That shit is scary.

I couldn't just tell you to stop the mouthwash and see what happens, because then you would risk screwing up your heart. That's a profit/loss test that you don't want to lose at. So you stay the course, and keep using the crazy mouthwash.

That's a Class A mind virus. Great technique. It tells you, "There's nothing in your immediate experience that could distinguish between this working or not working until it's TOO LATE. Don't test it. There's too much at stake." Clever, eh?

That way you feel dependent on it and never test its usefulness. It's not like whether your throwing technique is good or bad (whether you hit the target or not or whatever); it's INVISIBILE whether it's working or not. If it's working, you see nothing. If it's not, you still see nothing... until it's too late.

Feeling dependent and never testing its usefulness is great for the survival of a product that's totally useless!

But don't take my word for it. Quitting it might destroy your heart.

This is in response to Anonymous Coward (yes, you truly are). I had to submit an answer as my comment is too long.

Wow. I wish I had enough points for a downvote. First off, your answer makes no sense. Then that thing about "dentistry is a joke" - are you serious? Dental decay, abscesses, infections that become systemic - these aren't jokes. That's not even mentioning the emotional and social stress involved with losing your teeth!

Additionally, being on a paleo diet is not a magic bullet. Individual variation in genetics, environment (including nutrition), even down to the populations of bacteria in the oral environment contribute to dental decay and perio problems. Paleo is so broad that to say, "none of their shit applies to people who ACTUALLY do the paleo thing" is irresponsible when you know NOTHING about what the person is ACTUALLY eating or their medical history or ANYTHING about that individual person.

Please get educated and stop spreading your ignorant paranoia.

/rant

It's not the germs, it's the plaque. The plaque that build up on your teeth turns out to be the same plaque that builds up in your arteries and causes restricted blood flow thus heart problems. It's related to what is commonly called "hardening of the arteries". Try doing research somewhere other than the internet if you want to read legitimate studies and something more than guesses and opinions.

to anynomus coward i full heartedlyl agree with you.