An alternative may be brewing in our kitchen: tea!
Both green and black tea may help prevent cavities and freshen breath. According to numerous studies, people who rinsed their mouths with black tea for one minute 10 times a day had less decay-causing plaque on their teeth than those who rinsed with water. Also the natural antioxidants in tea known as polyphenols were incubated with the bacteria that cause bad breath for 48 hours. Tea kills bacteria.
Rinsing mouth with tea all day isn't exactly practical, but scientists are currently testing the efficacy of a new tea toothpaste. So may be one day we'll be visiting dentist for prophylactics only :) Which would be totally great!