Mouthwashes - are they effective, and do they have a role in clinical practice?

This week Matt Hopcraft is joined by Michael McCullough, Professor of Oral Medicine at the Melbourne Dental School to discuss the role of mouthwashes in clinical practice - are they effective, and should we recommend them to patients? Michael has just co-edited a special supplement on mouthwashes in the International Dental Journal, which forms the basis of the discussion for this episode. Did you know that the ancient Romans used Portuguese urine as a mouthwash? It was thought that the ammonia would disinfect and whiten the teeth.