Alcohol levels in tissue conditioners: high enough to fail the breathalyser?

Most tissue conditioners contain ethanol, but only a very small amount would be present in any application. An investigation was carried out to see if the levels of alcohol effusing from freshly applied conditioners would register on an intoximeter of the type used by police to breathalyse drivers suspected of drinking alcohol. The conditioners were applied to the complete dentures of six edentulous subjects who were then breathalysed at intervals after application. There was sufficient alcohol vapour present to register on the intoximeter in all cases and, for one conditioner, the levels immediately after application were high enough to fail the breathalyser test!