This rinse will help reduce bad breath, but should be used in conjunction with efforts to reduce the number of oral bacteria present (i.e. good brushing and flossing as well as (perhaps most importantly) thorough tongue scraping). The CPC ingredient is antimicrobial and can also help reduce bacterial load.

The zinc gluconate disrupts volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) which are the smelly molecules produced by many oral bacteria that result in bad breath odors.

This rinse has the highest concentration of CPC of those I’ve explored, .075%. All others are .05%. Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) is an ingredient shown to reduce plaque accumulation and gingivitis since it is antibacterial. ** In about 3% of people, CPC can result in staining and/or taste changes. It also reduces bad breath by killing bacteria.

This rinse also contains essential oils (mint, thymol, eucalyptol) that are antimicrobial (and can also result in a burning sensation despite it being alcohol-free).

**If sensitive to the CPC and you experience staining, a good alternative would be Therabreath Icy Mint – it contains sodium chlorite (acts similarly to zinc gluconate) and essential oils (peppermint, lemon, menthol). Therabreath PLUS would be another alternative, it has similarly potent (burning mint) oils (tea tree, menthol), but contains two bad-breath compounds, zinc gluconate and sodium chlorite.