Question about Colgate putting mineral oil in its new mouthwash

Joined
Feb 27, 2018
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Colgate has this new mouthwash containing mineral oil and sunflower seed oil. The green liquid that floats to the top of the bottle is the oil. The active ingredient in the mouthwash is water-soluble cetylpyridinium chloride, which is present in an equal amount in Colgate's regular (oil free) mouthwash.

I tried this stuff and it is gross. Even when you shake it up well, a mouthfull of the stuff coats the lining of your mouth with a thin film of oil.

I contacted Colgate's customer service to ask what the purpose of the oil is. Here is their response:

>The oil is comprised of mineral oil, flavor, sunflower oil and beta carotene. A hydrophobic material, such as mineral oil, is needed to form visible bits upon expectorating. As oil is not easily dispersed by common mouthwash surfactants to form a stable single phase product, the product was instead formulated to be delivered as a two phase, oil over water product.

My question to /r/dentistry is this: is there any possible dental or hygienic reason you can think of for why they've added oil to this mouthwash? Doing so just for appearance seems incredibly bizarre, especially considering how gross it is. From what I can tell, a lot of people agree that it is an unpleasant product to use.

One possible lead: the online ingredient list for the product indicates that both the mineral and sunflower seed oils are there to "solubilize other ingredients in the finished product." Is it possible that the active ingredient is also soluble in oil, so that there's a benefit to the oil's propensity to linger and keep the ingredient from washing away? Page three of this data sheet states that cetylpyridinium chloride is "more soluble in oil" (more than in water?) but I good be reading that wrong and don't see such information listed anywhere else.

Any thoughts or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2018
Messages
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I finally got a followup response from Colgate. This is what they've said:

"The formula contains a water phase containing CPC and oil phase with the flavor (aroma) and other oils. Immediately after completely mixing the 2 phases, rinsing with the resulting emulsion gives the formation of particles (“bits”) that are seen in the sink upon expectoration. The resulting emulsion also gives a different mouth feel. The emulsion is necessary for lifting debris and bacteria form the mouth."
 

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