How to Cure Bad Breath (Halitosis)
Who doesn’t need to know how to cure bad breath? Not very many people. Almost everyone has bad breath sometime, so it’s good to have some tools to keep your breath sweet and fresh. If you adopt these five tips and make them permanent habits, you will have your very own cure for bad breath.
Tip #1
Cure bad breath by drinking lots of water. A dry mouth encourages the growth of bacteria that cause bad breath. This anaerobic bacteria doesn’t like oxygen and water oxygenates your mouth.
Tip #2
Brush and floss at least twice daily. Practice good oral hygiene. The bad breath producing bacteria thrive on food particles that are on and between your teeth and on the plaque on your teeth. Brushing and flossing remove the food particles and plaque.
Tip #3
Clean your tongue. Have you looked at your tongue lately? Does it look pink and healthy or does it have a white coating? By scraping your tongue you’ll remove both bacteria and food particles.
Tip #4
Avoid smelly habits. Pay attention to what you eat. If you need to have good breath for a date, a meeting, or an event in the next few hours, avoid foods that you know smell bad such as onions, garlic, and alcoholic beverages. Smoking is a sure way to smell bad, too.
Tip #5
Select your mouthwash and toothpaste carefully. You want to use an oxygenating mouth wash (kills the bacteria) and a toothpaste without sodium lauryl sulfate. Mouthwash that contains alcohol can dry your mouth and encourage those anaerobic bacteria.
Everyone has bad breath sometime in their life. It is inevitable. But you can do something about it and cure bad breath by developing some simple habits. The best way to maintain a healthy mouth and prevent bad breath is to follow the above five steps.
Do you wish you could find a reliable remedy for bad breath? There are some short term bad breath solutions but like everything else you have to form good oral hygiene daily habits for a fresh breath.
Okay, here are some facts. A full 70% of the people you know have bad breath.
- 35% of everyone you know has chronic bad breath meaning they are concerned with their breath 24 hours a day and may seek professional help
- 35% of the people you come in contact with have borderline bad breath, meaning their breath seems fresh throughout the day but something as minor as sickness, certain foods, will jump them into the chronic
- 30% rarely worry about bad breath except when eating certain foods.
Bottom line – if you are breathing, you’ve had halitosis. It doesn’t matter which group you fall into, because each group the morning breath problem.
Food Can Be the Fresh Breath Problem
Short term bad breath, for certain people, can be caused by a special group of foods. The best known foods are onions and garlic. Sulfur compounds (rotten egg smell) in high concentrations increases the smell in these foods.
Here are three short term remedies to get rid of bad breath caused by food.
- Set limits on how much you eat of these foods.
- If you have had onions, clean your tongue and brush your teeth after eating.
- Gum, breath sprays, mints are short term remedies to hide your bad breath
Don’t consider these long lasting solutions because they aren’t.
Long Term Remedy To Get Rid Of Bad Breath
I know you already know this, but I need to reinforce it. Regular dental hygiene along with keeping your tongue clean will reduce bad breath.
This is what’s happening in your mouth. We all have natural bacteria in our mouths. Some good and some bad. These bad are what causes bad breath and have a fancy name anaerobic bacteria. They like to hang around in places without oxygen. These bacteria are the main halitosis causing culprits. What they don’t like is oxygen, so by keeping your mouth hydrated, it will increase the oxygen available, killing off bad bacteria. They also like to chow down on food scraps, so make sure you don’t have left over food in your mouth. These two things will cut back on any bad breath problem. Rinse and swish, but be sure to use water. You’ll wash away bits of food and it will keep your mouth from getting dry.
The anaerobic bacteria really dislike oxygen so regular brushing and flossing will get rid of plaque and the food between your teeth – both great places for bacteria to thrive.
A Coated Tongue Means Bad Breath
So be honest here, how many of you clean your tongue? This is the best method I’ve found to clean your tongue. After your teeth brushing, use a tongue scraper or the side of a spoon and very gently scrape your tongue from back to front a couple of times to remove the coating. Come on, reach way back. If you find yourself gagging a little then you are really getting into the spirit of the thing. The coating on your tongue keeps oxygen from reaching to the base of the papillae on your tongue, which is where the anaerobic bacteria like to live. After cleaning your tongue, use a mouthwash that has chloride dioxide in it but has no alcohol. Chlorine dioxide interacts with and gets rid of the volatile sulfur compounds (VSC’s) that cause halitosis.
Avoid Alcohol
Skip the alcohol and reach for water. Anaerobic bacteria love a dry mouth (party time). Morning mouth happens to people who snore and have their mouths open all night (my wife – but don’t tell her). This dries their mouth out which which develops into…drum roll please…morning breath. Water will keep you hydrated and your mouth moistened.
Having fresh breath isn’t hard, just maintain a few simple daily habits. Eat carefully, and keep your tongue and teeth clean. You can do this yourself, the remedy for bad breath is yours.
