Prevent Bad Breath: Tips and Facts

There are many ways to avoid bad breath but many people often fail to prevent it simply because they practice wrong oral hygiene or simply neglect the proper way to take care of their teeth. To refresh your memory, here are bad breath prevention tips and facts to remember.

• Maintaining a good oral hygiene can prevent bad breath

A good oral hygiene starts the moment you develop your first set of teeth. Although you cannot bring back that time, it is not too late you to begin taking care of your teeth. A good oral hygiene means brushing your teeth after meal, flossing at least one a day (before you sleep), using oral antiseptic that does not dry your mouth, and visiting a dentist for at least once a year.

• Drinking plenty of water can reduce bad breath

Your mouth contains a good amount of bacteria capable of producing that rotten egg odor out of your mouth. So, you have to make sure that you wash away these bacteria regularly and maintain a fresh breath. Chewing gum (sugarless) is recommended to stimulate the production of saliva that will wash away bacteria and other food particles. Refrain from drinking coffee, alcohol and soft drinks.

• Using fairly new toothbrush and other dental care products to ensure effective oral care.

Replace your tooth brush every 3 to 4 months. Choose a soft-bristled one. A tongue cleaner should be kept clean. Buy good dental floss and oral antiseptic with American Dental Association approval.

• Mouthwash alone will not remove bad breath

Some mouthwash products act like chewing gum that only masks bad breath and replace it with a new and pleasant one. However, mouthwash will help kill germs and bacteria that cause bad breath.

• Breathing into your hand will not tell if you have bad breath or not.

This is because you are used to your own smell and would not be able to detect if the breath you emit is foul or not. Also, when you breathe you use your throat differently as you do when you talk so you cannot tell if you have bad breath or not. To make sure that you have a pleasant breath, just maintain a good oral hygiene.

• Brushing alone will not prevent bad breath

Different people have different ways to brush their teeth. Some complete their tooth brushing under a minute while some require more than that. But no matter how quick or how long you brush your teeth, it does not ensure that you will no longer have bad breath. Since bad breath is caused by several factors like the food you eat and some medical condition, it does not guarantee that brushing alone will prevent bad breath.

The unpleasant odor from your mouth is not entirely coming from your teeth. The greatest contributor of that bad breath is from your tongue. So no matter how often your tooth brushing is, as long as your tongue is dirty, you are still not guaranteed to have a fresh breath.

This is not to say that brushing does not help prevent bad breath. The truth is; it does. But brushing alone will not prevent bad breath. As was mentioned above, you still have to clean your tongue, floss regularly, visit the dentist, and be careful on the food you eat.