Can you go to jail if court ordered to not use alcohol but your dentist wants you to use alcohol based Listerine or Scope mouthwash?

Answer 1

Avoiding alcohol means just that ... any/all alcohol consumption whether it be in mouthwash or watered down at the local bar. Talk to your dentist and explain the situation; there will be other alternatives for you to use that will not jeopardize your court ordered restrictions.

Answer 2

There have been some studies about alcohol found in mouthwash and breathalizer results. Before I post references to the studies, I would recommend asking your dentist for a letter or written instructions to use Listerine or Scope and how many times per day you are to use it. Keep that with you just in case.

However, in medicine and nursing, instructions are often given to recovering alcoholics to avoid these mouthwashes because the products do contain alcohol which can affect sobriety.

Here are the studies:

1.
Breath alcohol values following mouthwash use
JAMA1993 Dec 22-29;270(24):2955-6. 270 No. 24, December 22, 1993
Modell JG, Taylor JP, Lee JY.

OBJECTIVE--To determine whether breath alcohol values (BrAV) attained following mouthwash use pose a realistic threat to the accuracy of blood alcohol determinations by breath analysis. DESIGN--Nonrandomized, open-label trial.
SETTING--Outpatient research office.
PARTICIPANTS--Ten normal subjects; convenience sample. INTERVENTIONS--Breath alcohol measurements were made 2, 4, 6, 10, and 15 minutes following rinsing of the mouth with Listerine (26.9% alcohol) [corrected], Scope (18.9% alcohol), and Lavoris (6.0% alcohol) using the Alco-Sensor III intoximeter.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Breath alcohol values over time.
RESULTS--Breath alcohol values following mouthwash use decayed exponentially (r2 > or = .98, P < .001) from mean values 2 minutes following mouthwash use of 52.8 mmol/L (240 mg/dL) for Listerine, 37.4 mmol/L (170 mg/dL) for Scope, and 7.9 mmol/L (36 mg/dL) for Lavoris to mean and maximum values after 10 minutes that were well below the usual driving-while-intoxicated range (> or = 17.6 mmol/L [80 mg/dL]) for all three brands. The nonalcoholic mouthwash ingredients did not significantly affect the BrAVs attained.

CONCLUSION--The decay of BrAVs following mouthwash use is sufficiently rapid that mouthwash use would not pose a realistic threat to the accuracy of blood alcohol determinations by breath analysis under normal circumstances. Use of mouthwash immediately prior to breath testing, as might occur in the car or workplace in a mistaken attempt to hide the smell of alcohol or other substances, may, however, significantly increase the measured BrAV

2
Ethanol and pH levels of proprietary mouthrinses
Community Cental Health 1994 Jun;11(2):71-4
Bhatti SA, Walsh TF, Douglas CW.

This study measured the pH and alcohol (ethanol) content of a number of proprietary mouthrinses available for purchase by the general public, as well as assessing the influence of the alcohol content on police exhaled air analysis (breathalysing) procedures. The majority of the mouthrinses were acidic, some with a pH as low as 3.40. Only one was found to be alkaline and one near neutral in pH. The ethanol content varied from 0 to 27 per cent. The effect of the alcohol content on the results of the exhaled air analysis were transient and would be unlikely to influence any legal proceedings