How to Pass a Mouth Swab

How to Pass a Mouth Swab

Some work places, agencies, institutions, factories and other employers test their newly hired skillful employees, conduct different tests and ensure wither their service providers are drugs abusers are not. However, for such purposes different tests are conducted, the most instant and on the spot test is the mouth swab test.

Therefore, a question ‘how to pass a mouth swab test’ has gained significance. People often ask particularly the patients using drugs as their medication. If you are also seeking out the ways of passing a mouth swab, here the ways along with other details.

What is Mouth Swab Test?

Mouth Swab test is conducted by employers, institutions, law enforcement agencies and other companies like that of transport to determine the drug abuse in their worker. The administrators insert a cotton swab in the mouth and take saliva from tongue, tooth and cheeks areas.

image of issuing results in 5 minutes

The taken saliva is put into another device for examination of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the compound present in cannabis and other drugs. This test is mostly conducted on the spot and within 5 minutes the administrators give the result.

Related Article: How to Clear Histamine from Body

Reasons for the Mouth Swab Testing

Police officers widely use this method to test the drivers’ situations. On account of the hard work of truck drivers and driving during the nights often compel them to use drugs and consume alcohol. In addition to this, drivers of other transportation companies like schools, colleges, shuttle services and numerous more are often tested to examine the use of drugs.

a driver being administered this test

Another situation is organizations and employers before hiring someone and different institutes on their monthly basis also perform these tests. So mouth swab test is performed to detect the drug residues in the people of the mentioned situations.

Significance of Swab Testing & Time Duration of Different Drugs Residues 

The reason behind mouth testing is after using the drugs they run in the bloodstream and finally enter into the salivary glands. It is also often asked and searched that what is the time duration of different drug residues that stay in the mouth saliva. If the drugs are used the numerous things remain in your saliva and can be detected by the mouth swab test.

The drugs detected by the mouth swab test are MDMA, Alcohol, Cannabis, THC, Cocaine, LSD, Opioids, PCP, Benzodiazepines, Amphetamines, etc. The time duration for residual components of drugs in mouth are; Cocaine and opioid rests for 2 to 3 days in saliva, Marijuana residual time duration is only 24 hours means 1 day, amphetamines stays for 72 hours and the most long residual duration is of methamphetamines that is 4 to 5 days.

Types of Mouth Swab Test 

The oral like mouth swab test is mainly classified into two types on the basis of their spot of conduction. The two types are; point-of-care testing and laboratory-based testing. The first one is done on the spot as its name indicates the point of care testing, all it need is a kit for testing. While the second one takes place in laboratory, a saliva sample is tested in laboratory with different tools. The on the spot testing gives results just within 5 minutes, the second one may takes 3 to 5 days.

Procedure of Mouth Swab Testing

The procedure of conducting the mouth swab test is simple while following some basics steps, where are:

infographic 3

Limitations of Mouth Swab Testing

The mouth swab test is not always accurate and has numerous limitations. There are some limitations based on the accurate results but the major among them are as follows:

limitations of mouth swab testing

a). Inaccuracy in Instant Results

As the test is conducted on the spot and is given very short interval of time on account of limited time of the test taker and administrator, they have just to follow some basic formalities. While taking only up to 5 minutes the results are more likely to be inaccurate. In this short time or almost no time on cannot be tasted perfectly. So the positive and negative results of on the spot tests are not always accurate but rather ambiguous.

b). Other Medications may also Contain the THC

There are some medications like NABILONE AND DRONABINOL, CANNABIDIOL (EPIDIOLEX®), DRONABINOL (MARINOL® AND SYNDROS®), NABILONE (CESAMET®), NABIXIMOL etc. may also contain the THC. A patient using one of these medications can also be tested positive by the mouth swab test and may see the rods of Lock up gates. Taking this scenario into considerations it can be assumed that the test is not always accurate.

c). Using Contaminated Swabs and Tubes

The third world countries out of limited resources may use the contaminated swabs or the swabs that are sued once, twice or more. There are also chances of some residual THC of other individuals who are tested before, so a THC free person may trap in this test. It often happens on the road sides, the traffic police having very limited resources only wash the swabs and use again and again for more testing.

d). High Chances of Tricking the Oral Test

People often search how to pass a mouth swab test and find numerous ways of tricking the mouth swab tests. While using hydrogen peroxides, mouth washes, chewing gums, keeping citrus candies or eating citrus fruits may also alter the nature of saliva.

The mouth is cleaned and oral test being limited to saliva con not detect the THC in blood. The mentioned items are used for test tricking purposes and people often succeed in their aims. Keeping such drawback in mind the test results may be full of ambiguities.

e). Lack of Skillful Administrators or Lab Technicians

The test conducted on the road sides without skilled or professional technicians or people conduct it at homes by their selves. The common people or road side police officers are not well trained and having the limited or improper instructions may commit a mistake which leads to the false result. The mistake may be not done by humans but using contaminated tubes, swabs and other things may destroy the normal procedure. There are chances of false positive or false negative results.

f). Difficulty in the Testing

Some people may have difficulty in the procedure and are uncomfortable with the process. It may cause vomiting to some people who are not sued to the swabs or going through the process for the first time. Sometimes the administrators in haste or emergency may perform the test immediately following the wrong ways.

Passing a Mouth Swab

Let’s move to the moot question of the article; if one is supposed to undertake the mouth swab test so how to pass the test. We have gathered some of the well tested tips and ideas to share helping you to qualify and pass the mouth swab test.

People for numerous purposes face the testing and sometimes they are tested positive which can lead to their job loss, damaging reputation, trust loss, and many more social problems.

Some work places, agencies, institutions, factories and other employers test their newly hired skillful employees, conduct different tests and ensure wither their service providers are drugs abusers are not.

People often search how to pass a mouth swab test, particularly the patients using drugs as their medication. If you are also searching out the methods of passing a mouth swab test, the ways along with other details are the following:

Passing the Mouth Swab Test With No preparation Time

Police officers widely use this method to test the drivers’ situations. On account of the hard work of truck drivers and driving during the nights often compel them to use drugs and consume alcohol.

image result of a a test driver

The mouth swab test is done on the spot and gives results just within 5 minutes. If you are trapped in such immediate situations, standing in the line of testing and tend to pass the test in no time of preparation, you are advised to follow the following tips to pass the test: -

a. Eating Citrus Fruits or Using Sour Candies

People often use citrus food after taking high dose of drugs so there is a water and fire combination of the both and they are both indirectly proportional to each other. Consuming citrus or sour food items washes away the THC present in saliva. If you are left with only 3 to 5 minutes before the testing, you are directed to eat citrus fruits like orange, lemon, grapes, pomegranate, etc.

a person eating citrus fruits etc

If you don’t have such fruits then it is easy to suck 2 or 3 sour candies that produces saliva in large amount and the THC mix up with them and replaced by new THC free saliva. Then it is almost difficult for the administrator to trace the THC in the saliva and you can easily pass the test.

b. Chewing Gums to Help Passing Swab Test

The next effective way of tricking the mouth swab test is chewing some bubble gums before appearing for the test. Gums alter the chemical nature of the saliva and the THC or other drugs present in your saliva become diluted. So taking in the saliva or spitting out can help you out in passing the test.

Always prefer the citrus flavor over other, it can easily make the saliva less effective to detect the THC. It would also be better to chew a gum or two after smoking cigarettes or taking other drugs to clean your teeth from the residues and change the chemical nature of your saliva.

c. Using Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen Peroxide are also termed as an adulterant and widely used for medical and non-medical purposes. For the former use, hydrogen peroxides are preferred for skin wounds or cuts to detoxify and kill the germs. For the later, hydrogen peroxides are used for sterilizations, disinfecting and stain removal.

hydrogen peroxide detoxifying moutwash

However, it can be sued to detoxify that mouth from the THC and other drugs residues. Pour 3 or 4 drops on cotton or on tissue paper and clean well the mouth from all inner sides. You can also pour the mentioned amount of hydrogen peroxide into water and gargle twice or thrice and spit the water.

d. Use of Detoxifying Mouthwash

Keeping the risks into account, which can be discussed in the next topic, using detoxifying mouthwashes can be privileged over hydrogen peroxides. These types of mouthwashes are available in the market particularly for the purpose of eliminating the THC from saliva.

These products are only helpful for the timely relief and can only help you passing the mouth swab test. However, you can use the mouthwash for daily use to remove the stains and residues of smoking tobacco. The widely recommended mouth wash is TOXIN RID MOUTHWASH.

Risks Involved in Using Hydrogen Peroxide and Alcohol-based Mouthwash 
Using hydrogen peroxide is not safe and has numerous side effects and it is never advised to swallow while gargling. Peroxides may turn your skin loose and red, may cause blisters and peeling. It may also burn the skin while causing itching and rashes. 

Swallowing the peroxides may cause lungs problems like Pulmonary Edema and exposing to it may also cause headache, dizziness, shortness in breath, nausea and vomiting. Using the alcohol-based mouthwashes not always help you in passing the mouth swab test but sometimes can be proved responsible for the false positive results if tested for alcohol.

e. Show Medical Prescription

If you are a patient and using the drugs as your medications then you must be aware of the law for patients and get a medical certificate from your physician. Although some organizations and transportation companies will not allow you to use drugs on the working site but you can only pass the test or bypass the test by showing your medical report. 

If you forget bringing the medical reports with yourself then it would be better to argue the officers and utter the whole scenario including the disease, medications, physicians etc.

How to Pass a Mouth Swab Test – Steps with Advance Preparation

one preparaing well before test

Mouth swab test can be passed easily if you have enough time preparation before it. If you have applied for visa, a job interview, or something else and you are notified before the test you can take some preservative measures. As for such purposes these tests are performed in laboratories and must be very careful because there are very less chances of inaccuracy.  The following are the effective ways which guarantee your success in passing the mouth swab test.

i. Changing Medication Schedule

The first and foremost way of passing the mouth swab test is altering your medication schedule. If you are a patient and using the drugs as your medications then abandon taking the pills till the test. The oral or mouth swab test detects the THC and other drug components ingested before 72 hours. So to pass the test you should not use the medication for that specific.

It would be better to avoid not only the medications containing drugs but also all other medicines because the cough syrups, pain killers and other medicines also contains less or more amount of drugs.

ii. Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene

Maintaining good and proper oral hygiene to wash out all the contaminations and drug residues from the mouth would be effective. As the test is conducted with the saliva, freeing mouth of all the things would help you pass but the question is how to clean out all the drug residues from the mouth? 

The first thing to do is brushing your teeth twice a day, you should also brush your tongue and all the back sides of cheeks. Besides this, use stain removing toothpaste and other useful remedies.

iii. Staying Hydrated to Get Through Swab Test

Producing more and more saliva will dilute the THC and will help you passing the mouth swab test. In order to do so you should drink excessive water and stay hydrated. Not only water but also fruit juice specially the citrus fruit juice will also be effective. Always remember that taking black tea and coffee and consuming alcohol dehydrate the body and are not useful. Flushing out the saliva containing THC can be only be done by mentioned methods.

iv. Consuming Fat-rich Food

The third effective way is consuming the oily and fatty food. Fats and oils mix up with the THC in bloodstream and eliminate it, by doing so the Oral test cannot be resulted positive. So before 72 hours of mouth sab test eat fast foods, cheese, salmon, tuna and other restaurants dishes rich in fats and feel free while testing.

v. Gargling with Mouthwash

It is also a part of oral hygiene but done with much care. It would be better to gargle with warm water but to remove all the THC residues and other drugs components form mouth, using detoxifying mouthwashes can also be effective. Do this process before going to bed and after waking form sleep. 

Do not use hydrogen peroxide, some people recommend it but on account of high risks involved in its use avoid using it. Gargle for more than 40 seconds, spit the water and revise the process, do it for more than 5 minutes for best results.

vi. Excessively Exercising

Last but not the least, doing excessive exercise will also flush out all the THC not from mouth but also from your bloodstream. It is also recommended 72 hours before mouth swab test. It will compel the body to metabolize the fats and give energy to the body. These fats and oils mix up with the THC in bloodstream and eliminate it, by doing so the Oral test cannot be resulted positive.

Conclusion

Mouth swab test is a way of detecting different drugs like THC residues in the saliva, the reason behind mouth testing is after using the drugs they run in the bloodstream and finally enter into the salivary glands. Drugs remain in the saliva and the residual duration varies from drug to drug. 

People often face the difficulty and look for the ways how to pass the mouth swab test. The ways of passing the test are; eat citrus fruits like orange, lemon, grapes, and pomegranate, suck 2 or 3 sour candies, chew some bubble gums, detoxify your mouth with mouthwashes, show your medical report if you are using medications, abandon taking the pills till the test, maintaining good and proper oral hygiene and consume fat-rich food.

Frequently Asked Questions

1). How to pass a mouth swab?

You can pass the mouth swab test with the following ways. Eat citrus fruits like orange, lemon, grapes, and pomegranate, suck 2 or 3 sour candies, chew some bubble gums, detoxify your mouth with mouthwashes, show your medical report if you are using medications, abandon taking the pills till the test, maintaining good and proper oral hygiene and consume fat-rich food.

2). Does chewing gum affect saliva drug test?

Yes, gums affect the saliva by altering the chemical nature of the saliva and the THC or other drugs present in your saliva become diluted. It would also be better to chew a gum or two after smoking cigarettes or taking other drugs to clean your teeth from the residues and change the chemical nature of your saliva.

3). What should you not do before a saliva drug test?

There are some preservative measures no to do before saliva drug test like do not use drugs, do not use any medications, etc. etc. but the most important thing is do not drink, eat, smoke and wash your mouth 10 or 15 minutes before appearing for the saliva drug test. Avoiding these things before testing may give the most accurate result.

4). Can you drink water before a mouth swab test?

Yes, drinking excessive water and stay hydrated will produce more saliva. Not only water but also fruit juice specially the citrus fruit juice will also be effective. Always remember that taking black tea and coffee and consuming alcohol dehydrate the body and are not useful. Flushing out the saliva containing THC can be only done by mentioned methods.

5). What is the most common false positive drug test?

False positive drug test means that the person tested positive is not using any drug but unfortunately on account of some reasons something detected in his blood. Mouth swab tests are less accurate if done on the spot but tests conducted in laboratory are less ambiguous. The most false  positive drug test is that done with urine, anything resembling thing with THC may cause false positive drug test.

Benjamin Aidan

Dedicated health blogger inspiring fitness journeys, sharing science-backed insights, and motivating readers to embrace wellness for a vibrant life.

Did this article help you?

Awesome!

We love success stories. If you have a minute more, can you share a sentence or two about how this article helped you?



We're sorry. :(

What went wrong?




Thanks for your help!

What do you wish we'd covered in this article?

We're glad you found this helpful.

We're sorry this article wasn’t helpful.