The Ultimate Guide to Homeopathy

In most cases your dentist can treat the cause of bad breath. See your dentist at least twice a year if possible. If your dentist decides that your mouth is healthy and that the odor is not of oral origin, you may be referred to your family doctor or to a specialist to find the cause of the odor source. If the odor is due to gum disease, for example, your dentist can either treat the disease or refer you to a periodontist ( a dentist specializing in treating gum disease).

It is humiliating for the sufferer of breath odor and in some cases can tend to make the person feel uncomfortable to the point of becoming reclusive and unsociable. This should not happen to anyone as there are simple and common sense remedies to improve or prevent this embarrassing condition.

(1) First and foremost it is important to practice good oral hygiene. This means brushing your teeth at least twice a day, morning and night, to remove food debris and plaque. However, if it is possible it is preferred that you brush your teeth after every meal (keep a toothbrush at work or school to brush after lunch). Use floss once a day to to remove food particles between your teeth. After eating snacks during the day it is also advisable to gargle your mouth with warm water.

(2) After you have brushed your teeth it is important to clean your tongue using a soft-bristled toothbrush or a flexible tongue scraper. Try to clean as far back as you can without choking as the bacteria tend to collect toward the back. A clean tongue goes a long way to warding off bad mouth odor. There are millions of filaments on your tongue that trap tiny food particles and bacteria.

(3) You can buy number of mouth washes over the counter that claim to eliminate bad breath. However, keep in mind that many of these mouth washes generally provide only a temporary way to mask unpleasant mouth odor. There are however, several antiseptic mouth rinse products available that instead of simply masking breath odor, kill the germs that are causing the unwanted condition.

(4) If you are wondering why your breath smells in the morning, it is largely by the slowing down of saliva production while you sleep. Believe it or not saliva is your best weapon against breath odor. By washing away food particles and bacteria, saliva helps to eliminate odor. This is why sugarless gum is recommended as chewing it will stimulate saliva production and temporarily mask bad odor. So chew gum like it is going out of style.

(5) Another tip to keep your mouth moist is to drink plenty of water – not coffee, soft drinks or alcohol. Research has shown that the older you are the more likely you are to get dehydrated. Drinking water has a lot of health benefits and preventing bad breath is one of them.

If there is a persistent odor in your mouth after you have tried some or all of the remedies mentioned it is time to see your dentist who can help pinpoint the cause of the condition.