Elevating Home-Care Recommendations: Pairing Toothpaste and Mouthrinse for Comprehensive Results

By Joleyn Carriveau, RDH, BS, PDHC, CDP

Dental professionals continually seek oral care products that not only deliver reliable clinical results but are also accessible, affordable, and easy for patients to incorporate into their daily routines. Recognizing that every patient has unique needs, it can take a few tries to find the right combination of home hygiene products to achieve results that you and your patient are happy with. Patient and provider inputs and goals can differentiate. For example, a provider is looking for effective, research-driven products that address a specific need, but the patient may have specific preferences, aversions, and opinions.

As a result, the most effective approach often comes from thoughtfully pairing products that balance clinical efficacy with real-world usability. By understanding the strengths of different formulations and how they complement one another, dental professionals can guide patients toward pairings that support their individual habits, sensitivities, and goals. The following recommendations highlight product pairings designed to address common oral health challenges while keeping patient preferences at the forefront making it easier for both provider and patient to achieve lasting, meaningful results.

Why Pairing Products Works: The Clinical Rationale

Most patients regularly use toothpaste and many incorporate flossing or a water flosser, but far fewer consistently add an oral rinse to their routine. Because an oral rinse can enhance plaque control, reduce microbial load, and support targeted therapeutic goals, choosing one that complements a patient s existing toothpaste should be an intentional decision rather than an afterthought. When thoughtfully paired, a well-designed toothpaste and rinse duo can:

• Target the same microbiological or structural problem from different angles.

• Extend therapeutic effect by more meaningful time spent than brushing alone.

• Improve compliance through simplified routines.

• Produce measurable changes patients can see and feel between dental visits.

This allows hygienists to build personalized recommendations based on risk factors, sensitivity levels, and patient behavior patterns.

In everyday practice, dental hygienists frequently encounter a range of patient concerns that call for tailored home care strategies. By considering condition-specific synergy—thoughtful combinations of products or approaches designed to work together—clinicians can enhance the effectiveness of their chairside recommendations. Exploring the following common clinical scenarios highlights how targeted pairings can complement treatment outcomes, support patient compliance, and optimize daily oral health routines beyond the operatory.

Halitosis Management: Chemical Neutralization and Bacterial Control

Bad breath remains one of the most common and emotionally charged patient concerns. A patient experiencing true halitosis should not rely on mint flavor alone; the condition requires volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) neutralization and bacterial oxygenation.

Clinical Pairing Considerations:

• Use a rinse that contains sodium chlorite. Sodium chlorite or sodium dioxide is known to neutralize VSCs, a byproduct of anaerobic bacterial metabolism. It is also known to create an oxygen-rich oral environment that kills odor-causing bacteria.1

• Use a rinse or toothpaste that contains xylitol, which is shown to reduce S. mutans without raising glucose levels.2

• Also, target an alkaline toothpaste to reduce acidity in the mouth.

Example Products:

• TheraBreath Fresh Breath Rinse, which contains sodium chlorite and clinically shown to reduce bad breath for 12 hours. It kills odor-causing bacteria.

• TheraBreath Healthy Gums Toothpaste, which is a stannous fluoride toothpaste that is clinically shown to reduce bad breath bacteria for 12 hours and prevent plaque growth for 24 hours.*

Dentinal Hypersensitivity: Tubule Occlusion and Enamel Support

Sensitivity often stems from acidic diets, recession, and root exposure. Many patients report frustration with intermittent success because they mix incompatible products.

Clinical Pairing Considerations:

• Potassium nitrate toothpaste, which desensitizes nerve pathways; it should be used on a short-term basis to address tooth pain.

• Baking soda toothpaste, which has clinically shown superior plaque removal and acid neutralization.3 Baking soda buffers acids that are eating away enamel and exposing roots/dentin and gently removes debris.

• Mild-flavored rinse with a balanced pH. A non-acidic or alkaline rinse can be beneficial, since we know that bacteria thrive in an acidic environment. Harsh alcohol-based rinses can cause discomfort and have acidic properties.

Example Products:

• NEW TheraBreath Sensitive Toothpaste, with sodium fluoride, 5% potassium nitrate, and baking soda.

• TheraBreath Anticavity Rinse, which features a sparkle mint flavor with no burn. This TheraBreath fluoride-based rinse also uses sodium chlorite to neutralize odor-causing bacteria and is a pH balanced formula.

Dry Mouth (Xerostomia): Moisture Support and Enzymatic Protection

Xerostomia is increasingly common due to polypharmacy, aging, sleep apnea, and oncology treatments. Patients often try random OTC products without understanding that moisture alone isn’t enough.

Clinical Pairing Considerations:

• Not all dry mouth rinses are the same. Some patients experience a filmy, slimy mouthfeel when using a rinse and some taste bland or clinical. It is important to find products that patients will use and that have salivary enzymes to help naturally stimulate saliva flow.

Example Products:

• TheraBreath Tingling Mint Dry Mouth Rinse, which provides immediate hydration and provides dry mouth symptom relief with salivary enzymes and xylitol.

• TheraBreath Dry Mouth Lozenges, which offer dry mouth support throughout the day with Jambú extract to help stimulate saliva production.

Gingival Health and Periodontal Support: Antimicrobials and Therapeutic Fluorides

Whether a patient is post-SRP, managing gingivitis, or stabilizing periodontitis, using antimicrobial rinses with antibacterial toothpaste can help improve gum health outcomes.

Clinical pairing considerations:

• Antimicrobials (such as CPC) rinses help reduce pathogenic bacteria associated with plaque, gingivitis, and halitosis.

• Stannous fluoride provides bactericidal/bacteriostatic benefits and strengthens enamel.

Example Products:

• TheraBreath Deep Clean Oral Rinse, which contains 0.1% CPC and is shown to kill 99.9% of bacteria associated with plaque, gingivitis, and malodor.**

• New TheraBreath Healthy Gums Toothpaste, which is clinically shown to reduce gumline plaque for 24 hours.*

Whitening: Peroxide Activation and Low-Abrasion Support

Patients often choose whitening products based on marketing rather than safety or chemistry. A strategic pairing helps patients achieve whitening and/or stain removal while protecting enamel.

Clinical pairing considerations:

• Baking soda and peroxide, which are shown to effectively break down surface stains with low abrasivity.

• Low RDA. Look for a low RDA toothpaste (charts available online) to make sure the whitening toothpaste being used isn’t too abrasive for daily brushing.

• Whitening mouthrinse that contains whitening enzymes.

Example Products:

• ARM & HAMMER Advance White Toothpaste, which contains 50% baking soda and peroxide for effective stain removal. With an RDA of only 47, it is also extremely gentle on enamel and safe for everyday use.

• TheraBreath Enzymatic Whitening Rinse (Non-Peroxide), which contains two enzymes called papain and glucose oxidase, which fight stains by attacking discoloration and can work with saliva to dissolve stains.

This daily routine could help patients achieve stain removal and gentle daily whitening.

Improving Compliance and Accessibility

TheraBreath and ARM & HAMMER products are widely available at major retailers, such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Publix, and Amazon. With retail prices between $4 and $10, these products offer affordable, evidence-based solutions that improve compliance and, ultimately, clinical outcomes.

Integrating Conversations Chairside

Dental Professionals can elevate home-care education by:

1. Explaining the “why” behind pairing products. Patients respond well to simple, science-based explanations about ingredient synergy. We can take this opportunity to explain what different ingredients do and empower our patients to find a product that they like that contains that ingredient.

2. Personalizing recommendations. Discuss risk factors, dietary habits, and product preferences, such as flavor and intensity the patient prefers, to increase your likelihood of patient compliance.

3. Connecting home care to visible outcomes. Show how paired products may give both dental providers and patients the results they want at their next dental visit. Also providing measurable progress when they return to your operatory for their treatment.

Home-Care Guidance

As clinicians, we have a unique opportunity to enhance patient understanding by explaining how thoughtfully paired toothpastes and mouthrinses can work synergistically to address specific oral health conditions. Modern formulations and the science behind them demonstrate that ingredient compatibility plays a critical role in maximizing therapeutic benefit. Whether the goal is fresher breath, reduced sensitivity, improved gingival health, or enhanced whitening, strategic product pairing helps patients achieve more consistent and measurable outcomes.

Patients also appreciate the confidence that comes from professional guidance, especially when it removes the guesswork from choosing products that genuinely support their oral health goals. Within this context, TheraBreath’s dentist formulated, clinically tested toothpastes and rinses illustrate how well-designed synergistic systems can simplify home care while promoting long-term oral wellness.

*In a clinical study with twice daily brushing

**In laboratory tests

References

1. Dinis MB, Agnello M, He X, Shi W, Tran NC. J Oral Microbiol. 2021;13(1):1-9.

2. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. d2011 Dec;1(6):488-90. doi: 10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60106-8.

3. Pham TAV, Nguyen NTX. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2018;4(5):206-215.

About the author

Joleyn Carriveau, RDH, BS, PDHC, CDP is a Tampa Bay, Florida-based dental hygienist, professional educator, entrepreneur, and public health advocate. She serves as a Professional Educator for TheraBreath–Arm & Hammer (Church & Dwight) and Waterpik, delivering evidence-based programs to dental professionals and students.

She is the founder of Home Dental to You, LLC, a mobile and teledentistry practice serving seniors, assisted living communities, and homebound patients throughout Florida. A Certified Dementia Practitioner and past President of the Florida Dental Hygienists’ Association, Joleyn has helped advance access-to-care and local anesthesia legislation. She enjoys traveling, practicing yoga, and spending time with family and friends.