system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How stable is the human oral microbiome against disruptions like mouthwash? If I use alcohol mouthwash will my mouth microbiome be back to the same amount and species ratio by my next meal? Several meals? Or never quite the same again?
gpt
This varies from person to person, but alcohol based mouthwashes do disrupt the oral microbiome at least in the short term, ranging from days to about a week. Combined with recent studies that cast doubt on the efficacy of those mouthwashes in preventing cavities, it's becoming more typical for salt water rinses to be recommended as an alternative.