Deal no more with bad breath!
Bad breath can affect how people react to you, leaving you feeling embarrassed, self-conscious and hurt. There’s a wide variety of possibilities which may cause bad breath. As with all concerns relating to the gums and teeth, a visit to your dentist is the best first step towards treating bad breath as it can also be a symptom of a more serious issue.
What Causes Bad Breath?
Poor oral hygiene
Bad breath is usually a result of food getting stuck in the mouth or teeth, resulting in a collection of bacteria. Food that gets stuck between the teeth starts to rot, causing bad breath or bad taste that doesn’t seem to go away.
What you eat/ drink
Garlic, onion, and chilli are all foods that might stay on your breath for up to 24 hours after eating. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix, but the smell should disappear as your body processes the food. Smoking and excessive alcohol on a regular basis can also affect the way your breath smells.
On the other hand, when you’re not drinking enough water, you likely are not washing the bacteria out of your mouth regularly. Drinking more water helps to keep those bacteria at healthy levels. People dieting can also develop bad breath through not eating or drinking regularly enough.
Dry mouth
Part of your saliva’s job is to wash away excess food and bacteria from your mouth. When you suffer from a dry mouth on a regular basis due to medicines, alcohol, stress or some medical condition, these bacteria can build-up and start causing an unpleasant smell. If you’re finding that you often have a dry mouth, or have a strange-tasting film on your tongue, book an appointment with your dentist to discover the underlying cause.
Other medical issues
There could be a case where the above-mentioned issues are not the real cause of bad breath. In such instances, bad breath could be caused by medical conditions such as respiratory tract infections, chronic sinusitis or bronchitis, diabetes or kidney and liver conditions.
How To Cure Bad Breath?
Brush your teeth two times a day and floss regularly to help get rid of the bad breath-causing bacteria. Flossing is a great way of removing the extra plaque or rotten food that has become lodged between your teeth.
A mouthwash can also help get rid of the bacteria that cause infections and bad breath. One should use an alcohol-free mouthwash; regular use of a mouthwash with alcohol can stress the tissues inside of your mouth. Just remember, mouthwash is never a replacement for brushing or flossing because it does not remove plaque adequately.
Try to drink plenty of water, eat less garlic/ onion/ spicy foods and quit smoking if you find that bad breath emerges soon after brushing or flossing your teeth.