[Les the Scientist (OP)]

I recently had a wisdom tooth out.  Not the most pleasurable of experiences !  Anyway, my printed instructions from the dentist advised me after the first 24 hours, to rinse my mouth with hot salt water.  I was simply wondering why ?

[neilep]

doesn't salt water have some kind of antibacaterial agent to it ? I know my mummy always tells me to gargle with salt water if I have a sore throat...perhaps having it hot amplifies it's effectivity....hopefully a hot salt water expert will answer you....wishing you better though....OUCH !!!

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[bezoar]

I always wondered about that too.  Maybe the salt acts to reduce some of the local swelling.

[chris]

I'm not sure why salt is so effective but I can personally vouch for its efficacy. I put a big blob of salt on a nasty ulcer that developed just inside my mouth last week. Within minutes the pain had subsided. A day later it was greatly better.

Patients are often advised to bathe wounds in salty water, including patients healing operation scars, and women post-partum. Patients with genital herpes are also advised to bathe the area with salt water to relieve the pain.

Strong salt solutions are obviously anti-bacterial because the solution dries out the bacteria like prunes - this is why historically (pre-refrigeration) people salted meat. But the concentrations you achieve at a wound site, and for the short duration that the salt is applied, this cannot be the whole story. Perhaps the salt solution affects the accumulation of local inflammatory mediators, making the pain go away ?

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[DrN]

does it have anything to do with what happens to a slug if you dowse it in salt???

[neilep]

LOL !!..that's a good follow up !!!...doesn't salt draw out all the liquid from a slug ?..........perhaps it DOES have something to do with it, drawing out all the nastiness from your wisdom tooth yank-site !!!

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[DrN]

I wonder if it does anything to the bacterial capsid thingy? the outer layer of goo that bacteria have instead of a cell wall. can't remember what its called now. the salt could cause it to dry out i suppose.
we're probably OK to a point because we have nice little sodium transporter proteins in our cells that pumps it out before it can cause them to shrivel up (or burst rather, because the water would flood in after the salt by osmosis of course!) unless of course the sodium doesn't actually get in the cells, in which case the water would flow out and then the cells would shrivel up. confused yet? I'm going home. bye!

[bezoar]

I know another trick for ulcers in the mouth.  Dissolve 1 to 2 aspirins in 4 oz of water.  Swish it over the ulcer.  Makes your teeth feel a little chalky, but it will relieve the pain of the ulcer for several hours.

[nothin]

What do scientists know about salt?