Mouthwash can eradicate coronavirus within 30 seconds of being exposed to it in a laboratory, a scientific study has found.
The preliminary result comes ahead of a clinical trial into whether using over-the-counter mouthwash has the potential to reduce the levels of Covid-19 in a patient’s saliva.
The Cardiff University report said that mouthwashes containing at least 0.07% cetypyridinium chloride (CPC) showed “promising signs” of being able to combat the virus.
The report – The Virucidal Efficacy of Oral Rinse Components Against SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro – is yet to be peer reviewed but supports another study published last week that found CPC-based mouthwashes are effective in reducing Covid’s viral load.
Although this in-vitro study is very encouraging and is a positive step, more clinical research is now clearly needed
Professor David Thomas, Cardiff University
The latest test was carried out by scientists at the university’s laboratory and mimicked the conditions of a person’s naso/oropharynx passage using mouthwash brands including Dentyl.
A clinical trial will next examine how effective mouthwash is in reducing the viral load in the saliva of Covid-19 patients at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, with its results due to be published in the first part of 2021.
Dentyl is the only UK mouthwash brand to take part in the 12-week clinical trial, which is led by Professor David Thomas from Cardiff University and titled: “The measurement of mouthwash antiviral activity against Covid-19”
It is important to point out the study won’t give us any direct evidence on viral transmission between patients, that would require a different type of study on a much larger scale.
Comments