Bad Breath Relief

Bad Breath Relief

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It is safe to say that you are hesitant to open your mouth when your dental hygienist approaches? Such feelings of trepidation are sometimes fuelled by certain promotions for breath mints, splashes, washes and pills.

While incessant Bad Breath is not a myth, it's substantially less normal than the advertisements or studies recommend. When bad Breath does occur, it's quite often because of issues in the mouth that can be promptly cured.

Certain mouth odours are normal, however they are mellow and transitory(that is, the this type of smells do not hang around for long). Certain food and drinks can blight your breath. Smoking, drinking and eating certain foods like Garlic and Onion can taint your breath for over 24 hours.

Eating and drinking excessively are known causes of Bad Breath so is eating too little and drinking less water can also result in you having Bad Breath. Dieters may develop the mildly unpleasant "hunger breath" when certain metabolic wastes reach the lungs. (A well-timed snack may curb your hunger breath but at some cost to your dieting).

Then there is the so called "morning breath." - This happens while we sleep or rest, our tongue moves less and the secretion of saliva slows almost to a stop. When we are asleep, the normal bacteria in our mouth, start breaking down the Dead cells (these are tissue linings in our mouth which are continuously being shed and normally cleared by our tongue and the secretion of saliva) in our mouth, thereby releasing malodorous by-products. But the odour disappears as soon as you brush and floss your teeth or even when you have something to eat or drink.

Issues with the teeth, gums and the tongue are the main cause of Bad Breath. Without good oral hygiene, the teeth become coated with bacterial plaque, which can eventually give rise to gum disease as well as tooth decay. And badly decayed teeth smell pretty bad. But even relatively mild gum disease can generate unpleasant odours, as plaque, in its hardened form, tartar, can create pockets that collect pus. For that matter, rotting food around faulty fillings or just between the teeth can also create a very bad odour.

Recent research shows that heavy bacterial plaques can also form on the back of the tongue. Because of its large, rough surface area, the tongue readily retains the bacteria, along with dead cells (dead mouth lining) and even food debris. And the tongue bacteria are mostly the type than can easily decompose those accumulations, generating a variety of Sulfur and other smelly compounds.

If gum disease threatens your teeth and causes bad breathe, you should seek professional advice. But you can help prevent gum disease by keeping your mouth clean. That means brushing twice a day(morning and/or after a meal), flossing once and seeing your dentist regularly.
You can also keep your tongue clean by brushing it gently once a day with a soft wet brush after you brush your teeth, or by periodically scraping the rear portion with a bent spoon. (You can even buy a specially designed tongue-scraper in a drugstore.)

If those measures are inadequate, you can get a potent mouthwash. So far, two types of products have substantial scientific evidence to back them up: Listerine and a prescription rinse available as Peridex and PerioGard. At least one small clinical trial suggests that mouth rinses containing the germicide chlorine dioxide - including Oxyfresh, Retardex, and other products such as the Superior Oral Care developed by Dr Harold Katz of ThreraBreath, may also be helpful.

If there's nothing wrong in your mouth, you may be one of the few people whose Bad Breath actually signals a medical problem. Most often, it's a local infection of the respiratory tract (the nose, throat, windpipe or lungs), such as chronic Sinusitis or Bronchitis. Other possible medical causes include Diabetes, kidney and liver disease, gastrointestinal problems, and rare metabolic disorders. Finally, your Bad Breath can also result from anything that dries the mouth - fever, medications, salivary-gland disorders, or just breathing through your mouth.

But don't let all this give you the wrong impression. Bad Breath requiring the attention of a dentist or physician is relatively uncommon. There is even evidence suggesting that as many as one in four people who believe they have chronic bad breath actually suffer from Halitosis phobia. They'll often remain convinced of their Bad Breath despite objective evidence to the contrary.

Still, if you're concerned about your Bad Breath, seek advise from your dentist for a honest appraisal. Your best friend may not tell you, as the old commercial warned, but your dentist or doctor will.

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