Five Tips for Curing Bad Breath
1. Floss properly
2. Brush properly for at least 2 minutes, twice per day
3. Use an antibacterial mouth wash
4. Clean your tongue
5. Avoid foods with volatile oils
Bad breath is an embarrassing problem endured by millions of people all around the world. Each of these individuals is unique and therefore the cause and ultimately the best solution to get rid of their bad breath will differ. These six tips for curing bad breath should be of interest to anyone suffering from and wanting to alleviate this problem.
Tip One: Floss Properly
Flossing with dental floss or tape helps to reduce bad breath because it cleans the difficult to reach areas between the teeth that would otherwise be an ideal breeding ground for bad breath causing bacteria. You see, small particles of the foods we eat can become trapped in the small space between teeth, this food then becomes a food source not for us as was intended but for the bad breath causing bacteria that live in the mouth.
Many people dislike flossing because they find it awkward and time consuming, floss holders that look much the same as a toothbrush and suspend the floss between two arms have made flossing quick and easy and should be done by anyone serious about getting rid of bad breath prior to flossing.
Tip Two: Brush the Teeth Correctly
Many people with bad breath will know the frustration that comes with cleaning your teeth five plus times a day but with little improvement in curing bad breath long term. The reason is the vast majority of us brush incorrectly. Either we spend too little time or we focus on the wrong areas.
We all want to have nice, clean and white smiles so often we focus on cleaning our front teeth when most of the chewing takes place at the back teeth. To clean properly we should brush along the gum line from front to back in small, tooth sized circles, on both the inside and outside of the top and bottom teeth as well as brushing the chewing surface in a front to backwards motion.
Ideally we should spend at least two minutes brushing our teeth both in the morning after breakfast and at night before going to bed.
Tip Three: Use an Antibacterial Mouthwash
Bad breath causing bacteria do not just grow on the teeth and gums. They also grow on the cheeks and in the microscopic groves in the tongue. In fact, the presence of a white film on the back of the tongue is one of the tell tale signs of a bad breath problem therefore effective ways to clean these areas will be essential to a successful cure.
By swishing and gargling and antibacterial mouthwash we can help to kill bacteria living on these areas. We should however avoid alcohol based bacteria as they can cause dehydration in the mouth which would actually help the bacteria to grow. Another alternative is a baking soda based mouth wash as baking soda helps to lower the pH (how acidic the environment is) of the mouth making it a more inhospitable place for bad breath causing bacteria to grow.
Tip Four: Clean your Tongue Correctly
In tip three we already noted how bacteria can thrive on the tongue if allowed to. The reason is this area regularly comes into contact with protein food sources the bacteria can use to feed on, grow and excrete their foul smelling waste.
In addition to using antibacterial mouth wash, tongue scrapers can help clean this area more thoroughly and can be used once a day to help remove bacteria from the tongue.
Tip Five: Avoid Foods with Volatile Oils
Most of us have had or encountered someone that has just eaten onions or garlic and can pick up the strong the stench on the breath. You may have even eaten these foods yourself and wondered why, after a through brushing and rinsing of your mouth with minty toothpaste and mouthwash you can still smell the wreak of garlic on your breath?
The reason is that these foods contain what are known as volatile oils. Volatile doesn’t mean that they are dangerous or are flammable; rather it means they readily evaporate at room temperature. Once these foods are eaten and digested the oils are absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to all parts of the body including the lungs where they diffuse into the air and are subsequently noticed again as we breath out.
The smell will not go away until the food has been fully digested and expelled from the body explaining why foods like these can still be smelt on the breath a number of days after being eaten.
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