Apologies in advance if im in the wrong forum.

Can any of you clever peeps advise me on how to make a DNA mouth swob un-usable? No im not up to anything dodgy or illegal here! I am having a DNA swob done next week and im a bit uncomfortable about having something stuck in my mouth (?! sorry) Anyway I dont want to have to repeat the exercise if the swob is no good.
Will eating or drinking anything beforehand have any affect? What about using mouthwash etc?
Sorry for the questions but Im totally ignorant on this subject. Many thanks in advance for any info.

Originally posted by xtr3m3paranoia
Apologies in advance if im in the wrong forum.

Can any of you clever peeps advise me on how to make a DNA mouth swob un-usable? No im not up to anything dodgy or illegal here! I am having a DNA swob done next week and im a bit uncomfortable about having something stuck in my mouth (?! sorry) Anyway I dont want to have to repeat the exercise if the swob is no good.
Will eating or drinking anything beforehand have any affect? What about using mouthwash etc?
Sorry for the questions but Im totally ignorant on this subject. Many thanks in advance for any info.

Realistically, not much you do should affect it. They are going to slough some cells off of the inside of your mouth. The cells will be nice and protected behind their membranes, etc. The DNA itself will be very well protected inside the nucleus. DNA is a pretty resilient molecule with respect to your test, so you should be okay to eat/drink/smoke pretty much whatever before the test.

Actually, I would avoid the mouthwash. Just from my personal experience in genetics research during undergrad/medical school, people who used mouthwash tended to have smaller samples simply because the alcohol can kill/damage loose cells on the walls of your mouth. It won't make your sample unusable at all, but it could make it harder for the poor lab worker analyzing your samples, hehe.

Other than that, don't put any bleach or open flame in your mouth and you should be fin

Thanks very much for that. Should only need the one test provided I give fire-eating a miss on the day! Brilliant. Thanks again

Well, I mean, that one sample doesn't last forever. If they want to test your DNA 6 months down the road you'd have to give another swab.