Listerine vs. Crest Pro Health

[SuperC]

Here's my ritual,
Brush when I wake up, floss once a week. Stay off the sugar
No cavities here!
-C

[BuckeyMcGee]

Hee-hi-attention-hut! Thank you Tinman for your reply.

[Dentcraze]

Personally I dont know why you would want to use a mouth rinse unless u had some periodontal issues going on. If you have good oral hygiene and floss all u are doing every time you use a mouth rinse is kill all the good bacteria or stable oral flora associated with health. I think mouth rinse companies like listerine try and push there products even the bottles say do not dilute so you will buy more product. Mouthrinses have there place but its not in a periodontal stable mouth. Thats my two cents and I would chose Crest Prohealth over Listerine any day, alcohol or none seems like a no brainer to me.

[BuckeyMcGee]

The staining concerning Pro-Health is an issue, but then again, the alcohol is a factor in Listerine. Does anyone know the active ingredients in Breath RX or Biotene and if these products cause any problems?

[armorshell]

I know biotene contains some sort of "anti-bacterial" enzymatic concoction and xylitol

[bigstix808]

Originally Posted by pmantz

My routine

First I rinse listerine
then rinse with hydrogen peroxide
then crest
Floss
Brush for 10 minutes
Floss
then rinse with act
then floss at the same time as rinsing with listerine and crest mixed together.

[icechewer]

My routine:

1. Brush with Tom's (w/ Xylitol**** very important)
2. Tongue scrape
3. Floss with woven stuff (glide/waxed goes in to easily w/o picking up plaque)
4. Rinse with Original Listerine (if i feel up for the pain)

[red88m]

The mouthrinse recommendation should fit the patient's needs (and wants):

Perio/gingivitis with low caries risk and no xerostomia = listerine (maybe a round of chlorhex, prn)
Perio/gingivitis with high caries risk and/or xerostomia = Crest Pro Health or Biotene with in-office fluoride treatments
Slight to moderate caries risk and no perio/gingivitis = ACT or Fluoriguard.
High caries risk = in-office fluoride or Prevident paste.
Xerostomia = Biotene

I don't really think ACT does that much- it only has .05% NaF in it, and toothpaste has about .243% NaF. The new Crest Pro Health paste has .4% stannous, which is the same as GelKam, but it tastes better. I recommend it if people don't want to rinse with fluoride, or if they need extra fluoride AND an anti-gingivitis rinse.
Someone on this thread mentioned the "dead skin" after using listerine and a bunch of whitening stuff. Some folks are particularly sensitive to whitening products and it causes the cells to slough off. Just avoid whitening products. Tartar control can also cause this.
I have had a patient with moderate interproximal staining after using Crest Pro Health rinse. It looked just like chlorhexidine stain and I was surprised that he hadn't been using chlorhex. One of the other hygienists said that the pro health rinse had stannous fluoride in it, but it's not listed on the bottle anywhere. BTW, they now make clear Crest Pro Health.
In short, look at the active ingredients on these products. The new whitening listerine is a waste of money- it has no essential oils in it. I don't recommend alcohol based products if the patient has dry mouth, high caries or smokes a lot (that's where the cancer risk comes into play). Look at the concentrations of fluoride on the products, too. And keep it simple! People (normal people who aren't dental dorks like us) do not want to spend 10 minutes on their teeth and use 2 or 3 different rinses. Some of them don't even want to brush twice a day.

[edgeworth]

Originally Posted by red88m

The mouthrinse recommendation should fit the patient's needs (and wants):


I have had a patient with moderate interproximal staining after using Crest Pro Health rinse. It looked just like chlorhexidine stain and I was surprised that he hadn't been using chlorhex. One of the other hygienists said that the pro health rinse had stannous fluoride in it, but it's not listed on the bottle anywhere. BTW, they now make clear Crest Pro Health.

there is no stannous fluoride in the rinse. The active ingredient in the Crest Pro-Health Rinse that is causing the staining is CPC. It is a HUGE problem with this product.

[Doctor Bagel]

Originally Posted by red88m

In short, look at the active ingredients on these products. The new whitening listerine is a waste of money- it has no essential oils in it.

I glanced at the ingredients in this stuff the other day, and it looked like it was mainly hydrogen peroxide, which of course costs like 50 cents.

My main non-dental thought in this debate is that you can get generic listerine for $1, while crest pro-health costs about $6. It's got to be significantly better stuff for me to shell out that much extra money for it.

And yes, you guys have crazy dental hygiene routines.

[Lopyswine]

okay,

I have this question to ALL the dentists I have worked for.

Their consensus:

1) Listerine isn't nearly as effective as the commercials say. They just put a ton of alcohol in it, so it BURNS and therefore FEELS effective.

2) If you floss every day you are pretty safe from perio.

3) If you religious use ACT rinse, you are pretty safe from caries.

4) Use a SOFT brush to avoid retraction and always brush vertically or small circles because side to side goes against the grain of the enamel.

[LQPRimeTime]

Originally Posted by Dentcraze

Personally I dont know why you would want to use a mouth rinse unless u had some periodontal issues going on. If you have good oral hygiene and floss all u are doing every time you use a mouth rinse is kill all the good bacteria or stable oral flora associated with health. I think mouth rinse companies like listerine try and push there products even the bottles say do not dilute so you will buy more product. Mouthrinses have there place but its not in a periodontal stable mouth. Thats my two cents and I would chose Crest Prohealth over Listerine any day, alcohol or none seems like a no brainer to me.

It is proven that mouth wash kills more then what brushing and flossing do alone, but mainly you'd want to use this for gums throat and tongue. I dont see any reason to not use it but plenty of reasons to use it. "waste of time is not a reason" but floss and brushing dont get everything. I havnt tried the crest but research shows between scope and listerine that scope kills more bacteria. I might add it tastes better especially the spearmint in my opinion, and has less alcohol. This test was primarily with E. Coli bacteria.

[red88m]

Originally Posted by LQPRimeTime

I havnt tried the crest but research shows between scope and listerine that scope kills more bacteria. I might add it tastes better especially the spearmint in my opinion, and has less alcohol. This test was primarily with E. Coli bacteria.

This is not accurate information. Scope is more of a mouth freshener than a therapeutic rinse. It has a small fraction of the same active ingredient in Crest Pro Health and is not as effective as Listerine in killing bacteria that cause gingival diseases. E. Coli is not implicated in gingival diseases.
If I am wrong, I would love to see this research- as long as it was not published by the makers of Scope.

[lava890]

Originally Posted by lushan

Does anybody have experience in how long does it take for the stain to wear off? I heard that it will wear off if you stop using the mouth rinse.

Mine stained. The hygienist was able to get it off somewhat easily. I had no idea what it was from.

[TerpFan]

Originally Posted by SuperC

Here's my ritual,
Brush when I wake up, floss once a week. Stay off the sugar
No cavities here!
-C

Same routine here. 21 years and never had a cavity.

[ought2sleep]

I prefer listerine -- crest pro health has had staining issues and is NOT approved by the ADA.

[networkwasher]

My routine:

Tongue Scrape
Floss
Listerine
Brush Bottom 2 mins
Brush Top 2 mins
Rinse with water
Listerine
BreathRX
ACT

Perfectly smooth teeth and fresh breath all day long!

[pmantz]

Originally Posted by networkwasher

My routine:

Tongue Scrape
Floss
Listerine
Brush Bottom 2 mins
Brush Top 2 mins
Rinse with water
Listerine
BreathRX
ACT

Perfectly smooth teeth and fresh breath all day long!

My diagnosis OCD

[ItsGavinC]

Originally Posted by networkwasher

My routine:

Tongue Scrape
Floss
Listerine
Brush Bottom 2 mins
Brush Top 2 mins
Rinse with water
Listerine
BreathRX
ACT

Perfectly smooth teeth and fresh breath all day long!

Routine = good
bumping a thread that's been dead for 7 months = not good

[Lopyswine]

Originally Posted by ItsGavinC

Routine = good
bumping a thread that's been dead for 7 months = not good

hahahahaha

this was his first post. he freaking registered on the site just to bump this thread???

[Hysteria24]

Originally Posted by Lopyswine

this was his first post. he freaking registered on the site just to bump this thread???

I get the feeling that newly registered users who bump these old threads don't realize the age of the thread, nor the whole "bump" principle.

It's like they find the thread while doing a google search and then want to immediately add their 2 cents. (Unaware that it disturbs the peaceful balance of of the forums here on SDN.)

[networkwasher]

Originally Posted by Hysteria24

I get the feeling that newly registered users who bump these old threads don't realize the age of the thread, nor the whole "bump" principle.

It's like they find the thread while doing a google search and then want to immediately add their 2 cents. (Unaware that it disturbs the peaceful balance of of the forums here on SDN.)

So sorry guys! You are right, I did not pay attention to the age of the thread. I promise not to bump and more old threads!

However, I will continue to browse SDN and keep learning! You guys are great!!

[Hysteria24]

Originally Posted by networkwasher

So sorry guys! You are right, I did not pay attention to the age of the thread. I promise not to bump and more old threads!

However, I will continue to browse SDN and keep learning! You guys are great!!

No problem... keep reading and posting away! Its the best way to learn if you're interested in a health career.

[Lopyswine]

Originally Posted by networkwasher

So sorry guys! You are right, I did not pay attention to the age of the thread. I promise not to bump and more old threads!

However, I will continue to browse SDN and keep learning! You guys are great!!

hahaha don't worry about it. enthusiastic members are always welcome!

don't be shy to ask questions. be sure to read the stickies. forum search is your friend.

[BadgerLoveSmile]

Originally Posted by SuperC

Here's my ritual,
Brush when I wake up, floss once a week. Stay off the sugar
No cavities here!
-C

Haha that is great!

[bryanttttttta]

Originally Posted by pmantz

My routine

First I rinse listerine
then rinse with hydrogen peroxide
then crest
Floss
Brush for 10 minutes
Floss
then rinse with act
then floss at the same time as rinsing with listerine and crest mixed together.

Watchout for hairy tongue when using H202. It's common when using it into really high strenghts

[bryanttttttta]

Originally Posted by ought2sleep

I prefer listerine -- crest pro health has had staining issues and is NOT approved by the ADA.

I been using crest pro health for a few months and trying to finish it b/c I don't want to waste money, but I did notice interproximal staining. It seem like a superficial staining and mostly on my mandibular anterior. After a cleaning they were gone. So I'm assuming it was mostly binding to calculus and which was removed in a cleaning.

Is Crest pro health a 2nd gen rinse like CHX where it stays in your month for a few hrs and is still effective? If it does, that's a good reason to use crest.

[rambo2006]

I noticed that a number of the you here rinse with Listerine or Crest Pro Health before you brush. Whats the idea of doing that before you brush?

[rambo2006]

Originally Posted by bryanttttttta

Is Crest pro health a 2nd gen rinse like CHX where it stays in your month for a few hrs and is still effective? If it does, that's a good reason to use crest.

I dont think so. Crest doenst have substantivity.

[cookand]

Just an fyi. Crest makes a "Night" flavor in the rinse now and it's as clear as water. Kind of a light mint taste.