by Rebecca Schmorr
Healthy oral hygiene is something that we all strive for. We all want to have the perfect pearly white teeth.
We brush our teeth every day, we floss our teeth, we use mouthwash, and some of us even use the crest white stripes to make sure that our teeth stay white. This is all because we want that perfect smile and the dentist tells us to do so.
While we’re thinking about oral hygiene, the one thing that none of us want is bad breath. Oral hygiene often goes hand in hand, with keeping your breath fresh and clean.
But what exactly is bad breath? Halitosis, or bad breath, happens in the mouth. A variety of factors often cause it, from what you eat to various eating disorders. It mostly happens at night because the mouth is exposed to less oxygen while the body is inactive, causing the odor to stagnate and only to be released in the morning.
Your daily dental tools, if used daily and appropriately, will help you prevent, bad breath. Brushing your teeth, flossing, and using mouthwash are some of the common cures to get rid of this foul stench, but there are probably a few that you should be aware of. The following is a list of a few oral hygiene techniques used to combat brushing your teeth.
1) Brush Your Teeth Regularly
Brushing your teeth is often the easiest solution to getting rid of bad breath. In particular you should try using flavored toothpaste, to help get rid of the smell quickly and replace it with something more satisfying.
2) Change Toothbrush
Changing your toothbrush can often have positive effects on your breath as well. If you’ve been sick it’s often important that you change your toothbrush after using the previous one.
3) Clean your Tongue
Though most of us don’t clean our tongue while brushing our teeth, it might be important to brush our tongue as well. It’s important to know that the most common location for halitosis is the tongue, which accounts for 80 to 90% of all mouth related bad breath.
4) Use Mouthwash
Using mouthwash after you eat or after you brush your teeth can often be seen as another solution to bad breath. Mouthwash comes in a variety of flavors and can often leave your breath with a minty taste.
If mouthwash is not readily available or you want to try a natural solution, it might be best to wash your mouth with a cranberry juice or similar juice.
5) Drink and Gargle Water
Gargling and drinking water can often have a positive impact. This is also a simple task that you can take with you wherever you go. Just a simple gargle of water and rinsing your throat can often remove the taste of bad breath in your mouth.
6) Peppermint Gum or Flavored Candy
An often used solution for people trying to hide bad breath is using a candy. A peppermint, gum, or other flavored candy, when nearby can work wonders in hiding bad breath. Other flavored candy work well, but just keep in mind that this solution is often just a quick fix and the bad breath often does come back.
7) Flossing
Flossing with a mint scented wax can often fix the breath and also eliminate any food that might have gotten stuck in your gums.
8) Watch What You Eat
Of course you can simply watch what you eat. Many good flavoring foods can often be the cause of bad breath, including garlic and onions. But bad breath is not just limited to vegetables; coffee is often seen as a source of bad breath as well.
9) Chew Cinnamon, Cloves and Parsley
Not only can watching what you eat cure bad breath, but some foods can actually eradicate the bad breath that some foods leave. Cinnamon, cloves, and parsley are natural foods that will cure bad breath. It’s also important to note that certain foods also do the job including oranges and apples.
10) Pay a Visit to a Dentist
One final solution to cure your bad breath is to visit your local dentist or in some cases your doctor. If bad breath persists for days and even weeks, it’s important that you visit your doctor or dentist right away. Often times bad breath can be caused by certain enzymes in the throat or buildup in the digestive system, that can only be cured through medication.
Now these are just a few of the tips that will lead you to having a better bad breath. As the final tip says, if your bad breath last longer than 3 days consistently, please consult a dentist or health physician.
(Rebecca Schmorr is the dentist and owner of Glenwood Smiles, a family dental office located in Raleigh, NC. She specializes in both general and cosmetic dentistry. For more information visit her online at http://www.glenwoodsmiles.com/.)
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