Clean your mouth thoroughly and regularly; also brushing
between the tongue and teeth, not just to look good, but for oral health and
cleaner breath.
Two major sources of mouth odor are bacteria and decaying food particles. There are hundreds of nooks and crannies in the fertile landscape of your mouth where these offending bits of "rot" can get lodged. Brushing is not enough.
Two major sources of mouth odor are bacteria and decaying food particles. There are hundreds of nooks and crannies in the fertile landscape of your mouth where these offending bits of "rot" can get lodged. Brushing is not enough.
· Clean Tongue Your tongue, unfortunately, is like a shaggy carpet where
all kinds of smelly stuff can hide. Suction your tongue, a little -- and always
swish your drinks all around the mouth and between teeth to dislodge some of
this this material. When you brush your teeth (which should be at least twice a
day)
Use your toothbrush, the edge of a spoon, or a tongue cleaner to "scrape" your tongue.
Use your toothbrush, the edge of a spoon, or a tongue cleaner to "scrape" your tongue.
· Floss. Make it as much of a mindless habit as brushing your teeth. At
first, your gums might bleed as you dislodge chunks of food that have
"stuck" to your teeth and gum for who knows how long. But take a
second to smell the floss after you pass it through your teeth, if you dare.
You'll see (or smell) where the bad breath is coming from.
· Use
mouth wash. Mouthwash helps to keep your mouth moist and helps to prevent bad
breath.
Keep your mouth moisturized. A dry mouth is a stinky mouth.
That's why your breath is worse in the morning; your mouth produces less saliva
as you sleep. Saliva is the enemy of bad breath because not only does it
physically wash bacteria and food particles away, but it also has antiseptic
and enzymes that kill bacteria.
· Chewing gum stimulates saliva production (in
addition to covering up the odor with some kind of scent). Mints do not
encourage saliva production.
· Drink water. Swish the water between your teeth
from side to side. Water won't necessarily increase saliva production, but
it'll wash out your mouth -- and it's good for you.
· Dry
mouth can be caused by certain medications and medical conditions. Ask your
doctor about switching medications, or addressing the underlying condition
Choose your gum carefully. As mentioned in the
previous step, any gum will help with bad breath because the chewing action
results in more saliva being produced. Some gums, however, have better
bad-breath-fighting abilities than others:
· Cinnamon flavoring seems to be especially
effective in reducing bacteria counts in your mouth.
· Look for
gum sweetened with xylitol. For one thing, sugar's not good for your mouth.
Xylitol is a sugar substitute that actually works to prevent bacteria from
replicating in the mouth.
Eat a banana. You probably already know to avoid
notorious stink foods like onions, garlic, cheese, and coffee (or at least
brush vigorously after eating them). But did you know that if you're on alow
carb diet, you might have "ketone breath"? Basically, as your body
breaks down fats instead of carbs for energy, it creates ketones, some of which
are released in your mouth. Unfortunately, ketones smell bad, and so will your
breath. If you're on a strict carb-restricting diet, or any diet that forces
you to burn fat instead of carbs, consider throwing healthy carb-rich snacks
into the mix, like apples or bananas.
This will also happen to anyone who fast, whether for religious reasons, or
because they are anorexic. If you are anorexic, bad breath is only one of the
reasons to stop starving yourself.
Talk to a Doctor if you've followed the above steps
diligently and the bad breath persists, you may have a medical issue that needs
to be treated. Here are some of the potential culprits:
· Tonsil stones. These are lumps of calcified food,
mucus and bacteria that appear as white spots on your tonsils. If seen, they
can be mistaken for a throat infection, although sometimes they are not visible
to the naked eye. You might also notice a metallic taste in your mouth, and/or
pain when swallowing.
· Diabetic ketoacidosis. If you have diabetes it may
be causing your body to burn fat instead of glucose, creating the ketone breath
referred to in the previous step. This is a serious condition that needs to be
treated as soon as possible.
·
Trimethylaminuria. If your body can't break down a chemical called trimethylamine,
it will be released in your saliva, causing bad breath. It'll also be released
in your sweat, so persistent body odor might be an accompanying symptom.
Dr Tango is Consultant Physician with facts and Figures Email- caremed001@gmail.com Blackberry Pin - 74282d21.Follow us on twitter @Care_Med
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