Peppermint

Peppermint essential oil has a refreshing and cooling effect on the mouth and is
effective in refreshing the breath. It also has antimicrobial properties that can help fight
harmful bacteria in the mouth. Peppermint also has analgesic properties that can help
reduce pain and inflammation in the gums.
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The oil of peppermint, (Mentha piperita) prevents staphylococci from multiplying. It can
also prevent Candida species. Candida albicans cannot develop biofilms as a result of
peppermint oil, which renders the pathogen less dangerous and more responsive to
treatment. Besides being useful to its capacity to mask unpleasant tastes and refresh
foul breath, peppermint oil is frequently utilized in oral hygiene products due to its
moderate antibacterial properties. Further, it has antioxidant properties, a cooling
sensation in the tongue, and analgesic properties that help dull discomfort.
- Brian Maurer,
October 23, 2022

Peppermint oil appears to be safe when taken orally (by mouth) or applied topically in
the doses commonly used. Peppermint oil has been safely used in many clinical trials.

Safeness in using peppermint oil in terms of smelling

Nausea can have many causes, and it often occurs after an operation. One small 2016
studyTrusted Source assessed the effect of inhaled peppermint oil on postoperative
nausea. The researchers found that patients rated their level of nausea as lower after
inhaling peppermint oil.
Briggs P, Hawrylack H, Mooney R. Inhaled peppermint oil for postop nausea in patients
undergoing cardiac surgery. Nursing. 2016 Jul;46(7):61-7. doi:
10.1097/01.NURSE.0000482882.38607.5c. PMID: 27333231.
However, a 2018 review of studiesTrusted Source also examined the effects of
aromatherapy on postoperative nausea. Four of the reviewed studies involved
peppermint oil compared with a placebo. The reviewers found that inhaling peppermint
oil had little to no effect on the severity of nausea as a postoperative symptom.
Hines S, Steels E, Chang A, Gibbons K. Aromatherapy for treatment of postoperative
nausea and vomiting. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Mar 10;3(3):CD007598. doi:
10.1002/14651858.CD007598.pub3. PMID: 29523018; PMCID: PMC6494172.
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Meanwhile, the success of peppermint mouth rinses as safe formulations to improve
halitosis measures (Haghgoo and Abbasi, 2013) suggests that essential oils derived
from medicinal plants may have good prospects for application in the treatment of bad
breath. As natural broad-spectrum antibacterial agents, plant essential oils have the
advantages of diverse composition, comprehensive sources, and low prices (Dobler et
al., 2020), and now become a hot topic in antibacterial drug research due to their high
efficiency, safety, low toxicity, and high stability (Tariq et al., 2019; Dobler et al.,
2020; Tosun et al., 2022).

Haghgoo, R., and Abbasi, F. (2013). Evaluation of the use of a peppermint mouth rinse
for halitosis by girls studying in Tehran high schools. J. Int. Soc. Prev. Commun.
Dent. 3, 29–31. doi: 10.4103/2231-0762.115702

Dobler, D., Runkel, F., and Schmidts, T. (2020). Effect of essential oils on oral halitosis
treatment: a review. Eur. J. Oral Sci. 128, 476–486. doi: 10.1111/eos.12745

Tariq, S., Wani, S., Rasool, W., Shafi, K., Bhat, M. A., Prabhakar, A., et al. (2019). A
comprehensive review of the antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral potential of essential
oils and their chemical constituents against drug-resistant microbial pathogens. Microb.
Pathog. 134:103580. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2019.103580