Mouthwashes tested: only six out of 20 are convincing
Stiftung Warentest scrutinised 20 mouthwashes - including 17 for adults and three for children. Only six products were convincing.
The clear test winner is "Listerine Total Care" with a score of "very good" (1.4). The rinse not only effectively prevents tooth decay, plaque and gingivitis, but also scores as the only good mouthwash with "very good" recyclable packaging and biodegradable ingredients.
Rinses rated "good" are:
As well as the following products, which we do not have in our range.
- Happybrush Super Clean (good, 1.8),
- Rossmann Prokudent (good, 2.0)
- dm Dontodent Antibacterial Oral Hygiene (good, 2.2)
- Lidl Dentalux (good, 2.2)
How it was tested
In the dental examination, experts used the measured values of potentially effective ingredients: caries prevention and the prevention of plaque and gingivitis each accounted for 35 per cent of the test score.
Further test criteria consisted of the evaluation of the packaging and its recyclability (15%), the declaration (10%) and the assessment of the environmental compatibility and biodegradability of the rinses (5%).
Once "unsatisfactory"
The Stiftung Warentest also once awarded the grade "unsatisfactory". This was awarded to "Bioniq Repair Tooth Milk", which does not offer sufficient caries protection as it does not contain fluoride.
The Meridol mouthwash could not be evaluated because the manufacturer did not respond to the testers' enquiry.
Most of the other products could not be evaluated.
Most of the other products received a "satisfactory" rating:
- ColgateAll in One
- Eurodont medical mouthwash all-round protection (Aldi Nord)
- Elkos Dentamax Antibacterial Mouthwash (Edeka)
- Diadent Antibacterial Mouthwash (Netto Marken-Discount)
- Elkos DentaMax gum care (Edeka)
- Diadent gum care (Netto Marken-Discount)
- Alverde Natural Cosmetics 5in1 Mouthwash Organic Balm (dm)
- Alkmene My Tea Tree Oil + Fluoride Antibacterial Mouthwash
- Alterra Natural Cosmetics Mouthwash Organic Mint (Rossmann)
Mouthwashes for children
None of the children's products scored better than "satisfactory". The best was still "Listerine Smart Kidz".
The children's mouthwashes from dm and Müller came in behind.
Problem of environmental compatibility
The recyclability of the packaging proved to be a problem. 14 out of 20 bottles cannot be recycled, mostly due to non-washable adhesives on the labels. If the adhesive cannot be completely washed off, the bottle cannot be used as a raw material for high-quality recyclate. The full test report can be found here.
Header image: Towfiqu barbhuiya / Unsplash
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