TheraBreath is an oral rinse used to fight bad breath. It's marketed as a healthier alternative to brands like Listerine, and the brand claims their products kill 99.9% of germs that cause bad breath.

But is TheraBreath proven to work? What's actually in this rinse? And are its active ingreidents shown in research studies to kill bacteria and improve breath?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in TheraBreath to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective.

We'll also give our picks for the healthiest mouthwash brands currently on the market.

Is TheraBreath Proven to Work?

TheraBreath's website and packaging claims their product kills 99.9% of germs, "in laboratory tests":

It's not clear whether these laboratory tests were conducted with human test subjects, or in a petri dish.

Given the lack of clarity, we tend to assume the latter.

We cannot locate any clinical trials on TheraBreath, so we have no reason to believe that this product line is proven to kill bad breath in humans.

As we've suggested in many other Illuminate Health articles, we recommend that consumers disregard specific claims of clinical efficacy unless they're based on clinical trials which are publicly accessible.

Is TheraBreath Healthy?

The ingredients in the Icy Mint flavor of TheraBreath Fresh Breath Oral Rinse are shown below:

Sodium chlorite is described on PubChem as having antibacterial activity, however, we cannot find any clinical trials testing this compound in mouthwash.

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that's clinically shown to treat bad breath and support optimal dental health.

Sodium bicarbonate was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Clinical Dentistry to have a teeth-whitening effect.

There are two inactive ingredients in this formulation that we consider to be unhealthy.

Citric acid is clinically shown to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals, although this is much less of a concern in a mouthwash than a food product (since it's meant to be spit out).

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener with negative health effects when ingested, although it may have functional benefits for dental health.

Overall, we consider TheraBreath to be effectively formulated for halitosis (bad breath) treatment, but we do not consider it to be healthy given the inactive ingredients discussed above.

TheraBreath vs. The Competition

A dentist and YouTube creator named Taylor McFarland has a video ranking the top mouthwashes:

Our Clean Mouthwash Picks

As we discussed in our article on the best mouthwash for bad breath, favor mouthwash brands that use essential oils as active ingredients, without any unhealthy inactive ingredients.

Tooth & Gums Tonic by Dental Herb Company is our top overall mouthwash.

This product contains research-backed essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus and lavender, and lasts over two months if used as directed.

Eco-Dent Mouthwash is our top discount mouthwash.

This brand contains a blend of 12 essential oils, and only costs $9.99 at the time of publishing this article.

Both of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

Conclusion

We consider TheraBreath likely to work, because it contains active ingredients that are shown in clinical studies to have an antibacterial effect, and to treat bad breath.

We do not consider TheraBreath to be healthy, because it contains two inactive ingredients clinically shown to have negative health effects in some individuals.

These health considerations are less important with a mouthwash than with an ingestible product, but chemical compounds can still be absorbed into the bloodstream through mucus membranes in the mouth (which is how products like Zyn work).