Mouthwash that doesn't burn

SmartMouth Original Mouthwash has the best record for not burning: 10 of 10 reviewers said it didn't burn or sting, though that is a small group. Listerine Total Care Mouthwash is the best pick sold on Amazon, at 6 of 8. Crest Pro-Health Advanced Alcohol Free Mouthwash has the weakest record here at 11 of 20, with more reviewers weighing in on it than on the other two.

  • 74 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Feb 2016 to Jul 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it burn or sting? What reviewers said
  1. SmartMouth Original Mouthwash 10 said either way
  2. Listerine Total Care Mouthwash 8 said either way
  3. Crest Pro-Health Advanced Alcohol Free Mouthwash 20 said either way

Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for burning. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Best record SmartMouth Original Mouthwash 10 of 10 say it didn't burn or sting
Listerine Total Care Mouthwash Best pick on Amazon Listerine Total Care Mouthwash 6 of 8 say it didn't burn or sting See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Burning is where the three part ways: 31% of Crest reviews mention it, against 10% of Listerine reviews, while SmartMouth reviewers complain about taste (28%) instead. People often write about a burn when they get one, so read these shares as a comparison and not a forecast.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1

SmartMouth

Original Mouthwash

Best for no burn complaints

10/10 say it didn't burn or sting

10 of 10 reviewers who judged the burn said it didn't burn or sting, and 32% say the fresh feeling lasts. Taste splits people, with 32% liking it and 28% calling it bad, and 20% say it left their mouth dry.

What buyers praise

  • Freshness lasts 32%
  • Good taste 32%
  • Fresh breath 28%
  • Good value 20%
  • Mouth feels clean 12%

What buyers complain about

  • Bad taste 28%
  • Dry mouth 20%
  • Too expensive 12%
  • Breath not fresh for long 8%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 10 of 10

Share of 25 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

2 Listerine Total Care Mouthwash

Listerine

Total Care Mouthwash

Best for a clean feeling

6/8 say it didn't burn or sting

Reviewers like how it feels: 30% say their mouth felt clean and 20% say it left a fresh feeling. 6 of 8 said it didn't burn or sting, but 10% of its reviews mention burning and the group that stated an outcome is small.

What buyers praise

  • Mouth feels clean 30%
  • Fresh breath 20%
  • Good taste 10%

What buyers complain about

No repeated complaints yet.

Where buyers said it
  • Target 6 of 8
  • Brand site 1 of 2 shown, not counted
3

Crest

Pro-Health Advanced Alcohol Free Mouthwash

11/20 say it didn't burn or sting

Reviewers are split: 11 of 20 said it didn't burn or sting, and 9 said it did. More reviewers weighed in on it than on the other two, and 28% like the taste while 14% don't.

What buyers praise

  • Good taste 28%
  • Fresh breath 21%
  • Mouth feels clean 10%

What buyers complain about

  • Bad taste 14%
Where buyers said it
  • Target 11 of 20
  • Brand site 1 of 3 shown, not counted

Share of 29 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 3 products ranked here carry 2,869 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about burning, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Feb 2016 and Jul 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. SmartMouth Original Mouthwash Target (25 reviews counted)
  2. Listerine Total Care Mouthwash Target (20 reviews counted)
  3. Crest Pro-Health Advanced Alcohol Free Mouthwash Target (29 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which mouthwash doesn't burn?

SmartMouth Original Mouthwash has the best record (10 of 10), followed by Listerine Total Care Mouthwash (6 of 8) and Crest Pro-Health Advanced Alcohol Free Mouthwash (11 of 20). The SmartMouth record rests on a small group, and 28% of its reviews call the taste bad.

Does Listerine Total Care burn?

Mostly reviewers said no: 6 of 8 said it didn't burn or sting. 10% of its reviews do mention burning, and fewer reviewers stated an outcome for it than for the others, so the record is thin.

Does Crest Pro-Health Advanced Alcohol Free Mouthwash burn?

Reviewers are split. 11 of 20 said it didn't burn or sting, and 31% of its reviews mention burning. If burning is your main worry, the other two here have better records.

How should I use mouthwash?

Follow the directions on the label and don't swallow it. Burning is a personal call, so use the shares on this page as a guide and not a guarantee.

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HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.