Well…you can watch the reaction of other people when you talk to them or breathe on them. Or you can ask someone close to you what they think of your breath – honestly. Or you can walk around with a mask for a while and face your breath head on. Or you can watch the video, and its tip, below.
Yes, I know the video is for Orabrush, but it is pretty funny – and it will give the lowdown on figuring out your own breath.
The typical cause of bad breath, like the video says, is poor dental hygiene. Not brushing or flossing often enough can leave food and bacteria on, and in between, your teeth. Soon plaque build-up can result which produces strong sulphur compounds, and bad breath will ensue.
Other reasons for bad breath include gum disease, stomach problems, medications, constipation, sinus infection, decaying teeth, drug use, poor nutrition, disease, obesity, and smoking.
Dieting and infrequent eating have also been linked to bad breath. A study at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found that people who were on a low-carbohydrate diet were prone to bad breath. These restrictive diets can cause “ketone breath”, a result of the body not using carbohydrates as energy, and instead, using fat which results in the accumulation of ketones.
8 Tips For Preventing Bad Breath
Prevention is the key to good health, and also to good breath. The following preventative measures will help you make bad breath a thing of the past and allow you to talk freely to anyone you want – even up close!
1. Make Oral Hygiene a Priority
Many dentists recommend brushing after every meal and flossing twice a day. Once you make this into a habit you will find it easy to stick with. Also, brushing or scraping your tongue can keep bacteria at bay, especially if you have deep groves in your tongue.
2. Do Not Avoid Your Dentist
When everything is well with your teeth, it can be easy to avoid the dentist and do other things instead. But seeing your dentist a few times a year is part of good oral health. Your dentist will be able to spot any problems or conditions that may be forming in your mouth before it becomes a larger problem.
3. Replace Your Toothbrush
Every month you should replace your old toothbrush with a new one. This helps to prevent bacteria buildup on your toothbrush. You may even want to store it in a liquid meant to kill germs, such as hydrogen peroxide or grapefruit seed extract.
4. Avoid Habits That Lead To Bad Breath
Smoking, drinking, and eating high sugar products can all cause bad breath to occur. These bad habits are not good for your overall health, and avoiding them may be ideal for more than just your bad breath.
5. Drink Lots of Water
Saliva is what cleans and dilutes bacteria in your mouth that causes bad breath. Morning breath occurs because saliva is not produced when your mouth is closed. Water in the morning helps to replenish your saliva.
Also, when you become dehydrated, your body conserves fluid by limiting the amount of saliva produced. So drink you water and stay hydrated!
6. Avoid Food That Causes Temporary Bad Breath
If you need your breath to be fresh for a date or meeting, then avoid certain food that will cause odors to linger for hours. This includes garlic, onions, blue cheese, alcohol, salami, anchovies, camembert, and tuna. All of these foods can leave oils in your mouth that cause the release of odor for up to 24 hours.
7. Chew on Some Parsley After Eating
Parsley contains chlorophyll, the same ingredient that gum manufactures use to help create a fresh breath. Chlorophyll helps to remove toxins and is antibacterial. You can also purchase liquid chlorophyll from a health food store and take it after meals.
8. Take Care or Your Digestion
Poor digestion can result in issues with the stomach or colon. Gastrointestinal diseases are known to cause halitosis. If you have digestive issues, then no amount of ‘hiding’ the bad breath is going to help. You have to tackle the issues at hand. Chew your food thoroughly, eat lots of fiber, and seek help if you are suffering from digestive issues.
Treatment of Bad Breath
If you have tried all the prevention techniques, and are still suffering from bad breath, then there may be underlying issues causing your bad breath. The first thing you should do is ask your dentist what he or she thinks it may be.
If your dentist cannot find a reason for your bad breath, then you may be referred to a gum specialist or even a doctor. From there you will have to eliminate conditions and try to determine the underlying cause. It could be anything from an overload of yeast in the body to diabetes. In order to cure the bad breath you have to find the cause of it.
In the end, bad breath can be more than just an embarrassment or the reason you are single. Searching for the underlying reason that is causing your bad breath can help you to discover unhealthy habits or ailments occurring in your body.
Thank you for this very informative post. It is indeed very embarrassing to have bad breath, and the worse thing is when you are not aware of it! For us to rid ourselves of such problem, it is important to have healthy oral practices like regular brushing and flossing, and check-ups from Austin pediatric dentists. It is also important to have a healthy lifestyle together with a healthy diet.
ReplyDeleteWhen brushing, do not ignore your tongue because it also carries a large amount of bacteria in your mouth. Cleaning your tongue is a good idea, particularly the posterior area near the back of the mouth where bacteria usually hide. Combining this with a mouthwash will help eliminate breath odor.
ReplyDeleteJerri Franceschi
Aside from parsley, green tea also keeps your breath fresh because it has an antibacterial compounds that fight the bacteria in our mouth. Likewise, it is also good in neutralizing internal body odors. If you have bad breath, it would be great if you add a cup or two of green tea with every meal, or at least sip right through the day.
ReplyDeleteNelson Ishida
This article is great because as you go with the bad breath preventive measures, it’s also important that you also understand what causes it. :) Well, obviously, it shows that infrequent brushing and flossing is one of the most common reasons why you have a bad breath. It’s really important that you brush often enough, because if not, the food that is left behind in your teeth begins to decay in your mouth. The odor from this decomposing food, or rather bacteria, is the one that causes that bad odor.
ReplyDeleteCalandra Janocha
Ultimately, adopting healthy habits is all it takes to prevent and treat bad breath – from home remedies to seeing your trusted dentist regularly. When you do this, everything else will follow smoothly. Knowing that you have fresh breath can boost your confidence as you go about your everyday activities.
ReplyDelete- Cody Zieba
thanx a lot for stopping by and contribute on the topic
ReplyDeleteBad breath treatment is gaining velocity. Breath mints, breath strips, mouthwash, toothpaste. It's a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry, but they all simply mask the problem for a very short time. Click here to know more about natural remedies for gum disease
ReplyDelete