I bought this product (Listerine Smart Rinse Anticavity Fluoride Rinse) because my 6 year old son had two cavities between his upper back molars and I wanted to do more to take care of his teeth besides brushing and flossing.  The dentist recommended an Act for Kids mouthwash, but I didn't see any in the store.  I just saw this Listerine stuff, so I bought it.  It smells like children's cough syrup, but tastes okay.  My son loves using it every night, all by himself, because is has this special cap--a child can squeeze exactly the right amount into the top, and pour it out by himself.  Now that the bottle is three quarters empty, I noticed that there are brown stains on his teeth.  I noticed these brown stains a few weeks ago (which did not exist before he used this product).  I thought the brown stuff was chocolate or some other food and tried to brush it off, but it didn't come off.  I bought one of those sharp dental scrapers and tried to scrape it off, but nope, didn't come off.  I had no idea what could be causing it.  Meanwhile he was still rinsing every night with this stuff (for one minute, just like it says to do).  Tonight I looked at his teeth again and these stains are worse.  It looks like he's been drinking coffee every day for the past year.  I just looked on the Internet tonight about other people's experiences, and there are lots of other complaints out there about how this stuff is staining their kid's teeth.  I don't know if it's the fluroride itself (which I read somewhere can cause brown staining in higher concentrations), or if it's some other chemical.  The product states that it "tints food particles and bacteria," but these stains are not coming off with a toothbrush (or even the dental scraper).   The stains are appearing in the crevices of his his molars, and along the gumline where plaque probably accumulates, but it's NOT COMING OFF WITH A TOOTHBRUSH OR DENTAL SCRAPER.  I haven't decided if I should have him cut back to once a week until it's empty, or if I should just throw it down the toilet now.  I do not want to use a product that is going to turn my son's teeth brown.  Listerine needs to figure out what's wrong with their product and fix it.  My son's teeth were perfectly white until he started to use this product.  Hopefully once we quit using it, his teeth will eventually go back to their previous white color.  My son loves the stuff, but I'm not going to buy another bottle of this for him again until Listerine addresses this problem. 

Recommended: No