Analysis Version
vnull
History
Back to Study: Physiological role for nitrate-reducing oral bacte...
correlational
45
Pro
0
Against

Using a special mouthwash for a week killed some good bacteria in the mouth, which made less nitrite in saliva and blood, and this caused blood pressure to go up a little bit.

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The study design (crossover without randomization or placebo control) only supports association, not causation. The language 'reduced', 'increased', and 'correlated' appropriately reflects the correlational nature of the findings.

More Accurate Statement

“Disruption of oral nitrate-reducing bacteria using chlorhexidine mouthwash for 7 days was associated with a reduction in salivary nitrite production by approximately 90% and plasma nitrite levels by 25% in healthy young adults, with these changes correlating with increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 2-3.5 mmHg.”

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

45
45

Physiological role for nitrate-reducing oral bacteria in blood pressure control

Randomized Controlled Trial
Human
2013 Feb

Contradicting (0)

0
No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Physiological role for nitrate-reducing oral bacteria in blood pressure control

Score: 45
DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2012.11.013

Similar Assertions

Good bacteria in the mouth turn nitrate into nitrite, and when you kill these bacteria with mouthwash, this conversion stops almost completely.

45
0
87%

Using mouthwash that kills bacteria in the mouth makes it harder for the body to convert nitrate to nitrite, which lowers nitrite levels in the blood.

45
0
87%

When bacteria that help convert nitrate to nitrite in the mouth are reduced, blood pressure tends to go up by a small amount (2-3.5 mmHg for systolic and 2-2.2 mmHg for diastolic).

45
0
86%

When nitrite levels in the blood went down after using mouthwash, blood pressure went up, and this connection was strong enough to be statistically significant.

45
0
84%

Using a common antibacterial mouthwash for a week can lower nitrite levels in saliva, which might make it easier for tooth decay to develop.

67
0
84%