Garlic extract is a 'viable alternative' to popular mouthwashes: study

Death to bad breath comes in cloves.

Garlic — that pungent, bulb-shaped veggie that gives food a kick and vampires the ick — is now being crowned a possible cure for halitosis, per a new report.

“Garlic extract mouthwash showed comparable efficacy to chlorhexidine, particularly at higher concentrations,” wrote study authors from the College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.

Researchers compared the juices derived from the vegetable to chlorhexidine, or CHX. It’s an antiseptic and disinfectant “widely used as a gold standard mouthwash,” but can alter taste, as well as trigger other adverse side effects like oral numbness, burning sensations, plus teeth and tongue staining.

Overuse of the chemical can also promote antimicrobial resistance, leaving us