Treatment for Halitosis – The Most Common Ways to Treat Halitosis
Treatment for Halitosis – An Introduction
To properly treat halitosis we must understand that the correct course of treatment for halitosis will vary from person to person simply because the primary cause of the halitosis can differ greatly between individuals. In this article we are going to take a look at the quick look at what causes halitosis before discussing some of the more effective ways that we can treat halitosis.
In short halitosis is the correct name for the condition we commonly call bad breath however it is not simply to do with that tuna or onion breath you can get after eating but rather a more chronic condition associated with an excessive growth of the bacteria that live in the mouth.
As these bacteria reproduce and respire they excrete waste products like all other living organisms. Unfortunately for us, the waste products they secrete have a typically nasty smell due to their sulphur compounds. These compounds in the excreted waste product of the bacteria evaporate readily at room temperatures and can subsequently be smelt on the breath.
There are wide variety of things that we may be unintentionally doing that are actually creating an optimal breeding ground for these bacteria and helping them to grow and create more waste. These causes of halitosis have been discussed in greater depth in this article. If you have not already done so I recommend you read that article first before continuing as fully understanding the cause of your halitosis will help you to treat it much more effectively.
Hopefully by now you can see that any successful treatment for halitosis requires us to make the mouth as inhospitable for the bad breath causing bacteria as we possibly can. Here is a useful list of tips for doing just that.
Remove Food Sources
The bacteria that cause bad breath in the mouth feed on protein which they can get from particles of food trapped in the teeth after a meal, blood cells, enzymes in the saliva, white blood cells in the mucus and dead skin cells that come from the cheek, gums and tongue.
It is therefore vitally important that we do our utmost to reduce these food sources as much as humanly possible. Flossing helps to dislodge food particles trapped in the tight gaps between the teeth that brushing would other miss so it is important we do this first then brush away the particles.
Brushing is something we pretty much all do and for those of us that suffer bad breath it can become a bit of an obsession. However the reason it doesn’t often seem to work is because very few of us actually do it right.
The video below shows the correct ways to floss and brush. (just a heads up, its an older video from YouTube so the picture and sound quality is not the best but it is still a great video with some great tips to treat halitosis.)
Attack The Bacteria’s Home – Don’t Let The Bacteria Settle In
Although these bacteria can grow on the gum line and on the cheeks they are usually concentrated at the back of the tongue where the groves between the taste buds provide a cozy place for them to breed. Don’t let them get to comfortable however and evict these unwanted tenants by using a tongue scraper to clean your tongue.
Scraping you tongue can be a strange experience at first and often activated the gag reflex which can be quite uncomfortable and unnerving the first couple of times you try it but it is worth overcoming this barrier and learning how to do it properly as it one of the key treatments for halitosis.
There a wide variety of tongue scrapers on the market so it is worth researching to see which will suit you best. Amazon have a wide variety plus the reviews from other users will give you an idea of what each has to offer and is like to use.
The dental nurse in the video above gave a good description of how to scrape your tongue correctly so take a look at that now if you have not already done so.
Keep the Mouth Moist
The anaerobic bacteria that cause halitosis thrive in a dry mouth therefore it is important that we keep saliva flowing and the mouth moist. Unfortunately saliva production is one of those things that naturally decreases with age so understanding how we can assist in keeping the mouth moist is of the utmost importance.
The key is to drink plenty of water. This is especially true upon waking as this is when we are naturally dehydrated. The problem is most people drink little more than a cup of strong tea or coffee in the morning. Not only is this an insufficient fluid intake but these drinks contain caffeine, a diuretic that actually causes dehydration! Therefore it is best to drink water in the morning rather than tea or coffee.
Most of us that have ever suffered from halitosis will likely have used mouthwash in our fight against stinky breath but did you know some mouthwashes can actually help the bacteria to grow? Alcohol based mouthwashes also cause dehydration and should be avoided.
If you skip to 4.00 minutes into the video below they talk about how to choose effective mouthwashes for the treatment of halitosis.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Viddler video.
Keep it Neutral
Another factor that will help the growth of the halitosis causing bacteria is the acidity of the mouth. More specifically, these bacteria will be able to rapidly reproduce in an acidic environment and for that reason it is imperative that we do our best to neutralize the pH of the mouth.
We should try to avoid foods and juices that are naturally acidic such as orange juice and sugars as these will worsen the problem. One way to create a more neutral environment is to use regular baking soda. Baking soda can be mixed into a paste to brush onto the teeth and tongue or into a solution that can be gargled and swished around the mouth.
Would You Like a Mint… No, Really PLEASE Take a Mint!
Perhaps your friends and work colleagues are just really generous people or maybe the reason they keep offering you mints and gum is because they can smell your breath. Either way, there is good reason why you should say no to these. While mints and mint flavored gum may give that instant minty fresh breath they are a short term fix. You see most of these products are packed full of sugar and as we said before, sugar makes the mouth more acidic and bad breath causing bacteria thrive in an acidic environment.
If you do need a short term temporary measure to treat halitosis use a sugar free gum. Chewing this will help moisten the mouth without adding to the acidity.
For more great tips on the best treatment for halitosis get your FREE 10 part mini course on the secrets of bad breath. Simply enter your name and email into the boxes on the right and it will be send to your inbox immediately.
———————————————————————————————————
