Bad breath sometimes becomes a social stigma and sometimes become a cause of psychological trauma as people avoid talking to you or refrain from coming near to you. 

How to avoid it?

Three easy things to do:

1. Practice effective Oral Hygiene:

  • Brush twice daily especially at night. Brush into the gum margins.
  • Floss and clean between the surfaces of each of your teeth.
  • Scrape the topside of your tongue to remove odour forming bacteria and microscopic food remnants.

2. Swish with warm water and use sugarless chewing gums after meals mainly after lunch:

  • Water acts as a cleansing agent and dissolves stinky substances.
  • Sugarless gums loosen food and dead cells from the teeth, gums and tongue and foster saliva production. Sugar-free gums sweetened with xylitol is particularly effective as xylitol inhibits mouth bacteria.

3. Avoid foods that taint your breath:

  • Avoid garlic and onions as both have smelly sulphur compounds that lingers in your mouth and get absorbed in the bloodstream and expelled when you exhale.
  • Avoid coffee and alcohol as both create a favourable environment for oral bacterial growth and they also have a drying effect which reduces saliva flow and allows foul-smelling bacteria to linger longer.