The Pros and Cons of Menthol Therapy

Menthol Therapy is a form of aroma therapy which uses menthol oil. This oil has been used in the past by people all over the world as a natural way to ease aches and pains, to help relax and revitalize tired muscles and to help the body fight off infections and stomach worms. Unfortunately it also had some side effects like headaches, sore throats and even memory loss. The recent reports suggest that menthol may be damaging to the adult human brain and memory.

Some of the problems attributed to menthol are related to the same processes that affect tooth decay – the presence of acid in the mouth. It is possible that because menthol so quickly reacts with the acids in the mouth, it is irritating and therefore leads to tooth decay. While the acidic properties of menthol itself are a problem, there is some evidence that there are other chemicals which are released into the mouth from using this oil.

These include benzene, toluene and ethyl benzene, along with a variety of other chemicals which have all been linked with brain damage and other health problems. It’s not just tooth decay which is linked to the use of these oils – it seems that the long term affects of menthol can be quite severe. Long term use can cause problems with the stomach, liver, blood vessels and veins in the nose, throat, brain and heart. Problems that can arise from using menthol as a topical treatment are persistent headaches, dry mouth, dizziness and short-term memory loss. These symptoms seem to be more frequent in people who have weak immune systems. Other research suggests that menthol may also cause kidney disease.

Menthol therapy is marketed as a way to treat sinus infections and other conditions. However, this is probably due to the strong odor of menthol and not because it has any medicinal value. People with sinus conditions should still see their health care provider for guidance on whether it would be worth the effort to include menthol in their treatment. People with dental problems also should be careful about applying the solution topically because if they do swallow some of the menthol it could also enter their system.

While there’s no real danger in taking menthol, some researchers worry about its effects on tooth enamel. Studies have found that menthol has an effect on tooth decay because it interacts with calcium in the enamel. Other studies have found that menthol interacts with certain types of bacteria that can cause tooth decay. If you’d like to minimize the chance of harming your tooth enamel with menthol, you might want to refrain from using it or take measures to prevent tooth decay which involve avoiding products with menthol as an ingredient.

While some practitioners believe that menthol’s antibacterial properties help relieve tooth decay, others believe that it’s not healthy in this way. It has been noted that the bacteria which are responsible for tooth decay grow better in places where there is less oxygen. This makes perfect sense because when there is less oxygen available to bacteria they grow more quickly and easily. Therefore, applying a paste or a solution containing menthol directly to cavities seems like a counterproductive idea.

A few medical practitioners have suggested that the tooth decay problem is a result of the person’s immune system reacting to the menthol and attacking it as a foreign substance. Because of this criticism, most practitioners have stopped recommending menthol as a therapy for cavity prevention. However, there are some who have kept it around as a last resort for cases where other therapies have failed. Some dentists who work with radiation therapy have reported success in using menthol to reduce the amount of radiation exposure to patients’ gums.

On the other hand, there are a growing number of people who have found that menthol has positive benefits of its own. Ingesting it during the oral hygiene process seems to decrease the amount of tooth decay that develops in the mouth. It also has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, which could help to reduce bleeding and alleviate other symptoms related to tooth decay. There are also no reported side effects associated with the consumption of menthol products.