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Study shows that gargling with baking soda helps reduce harmful oral bacteria

Edited and resized image by Frank Busch is available on Unsplash

Gargle with baking soda can be a way to improve oral health. This statement is well known in popular culture. Baking soda is an ingredient used to clean the house, clothes, furniture, cake dough (as yeast) and is even present in recipes for homemade mouthwash. Science has proven its potential in combating harmful microorganisms. Understand:

• The various uses of sodium bicarbonate

What is baking soda

Sodium bicarbonate is a chemical compound that appears as a white or slightly pink crystalline solid. Also known as sodium hydrogen carbonate or even as sodium bicarbonate, its molecular formula is defined by NaHCO3. Bicarbonate is classified as a salt because it is highly soluble in water, but when heated to more than 50°C, it begins to decompose, releasing carbon dioxide (CO2).

It is considered a neutralizing agent, which helps to reduce alkalinity and acidity, neutralizing the medium to the nearest pH (hydrogen potential) 7, which is the neutral value on a scale from 0 to 14 - values ​​below 7 are considered acidic and values ​​above 7 are basic (or alkaline), with 7 being a neutral pH value, neither acidic nor basic, that is, in equilibrium. Water, for example, is a neutral compound and has an approximate pH of 6.8 to 7.2 (see more about pH and learn how to make a homemade pH meter in the article "Learn how to make a homemade pH meter") .

In addition, baking soda has the ability to further delay changes in pH balance, which also makes it known in chemistry as a buffering agent. This dual ability to neutralize and buffer are the most striking properties of salt, which help to understand what bicarbonate is. It is thanks to them that bicarbonate has so many different uses.

Gargle with baking soda

A study published by the scientific journal US National Library of Medicine analyzed the effects of gargle with sodium bicarbonate on oral health. Twenty-five healthy individuals were recruited for the study in the department of dentistry at Era Medical College. Subjects refrained from brushing their teeth overnight to enable a correct interpretation of the results.

The study results showed that salivary pH increased significantly after gargling with sodium bicarbonate. There was a decrease in the number of bacteria considered harmful, especially the species of Viridans Streptococci and Moraxella.

This means that using baking soda to gargle or as a mouthwash can be a cheap and effective alternative to oral hygiene that complements conventional hygiene.