Bad Breath, What You Should Do To Freshen Up

Everyone can have bad breath once in a while, particularly after eating a meal laced with odiferous garlic or onions. But when it happens regularly, you might have a chronic underlying problem. Halitosis has many causes, including poor dental hygiene, gum disease, denture problems, dry mouth, or an infection of some kind.

 Treatment starts with attending carefully to brushing and flossing your teeth regularly, or making sure dentures are cleaned properly. If odor still persists, a trip to the dentist for evaluation is in order, and if you get an all-clear on your oral health, visit your physician to rule out other problems, which could include sinusitis, diabetes, strep throat, chronic bronchitis, or other diseases.

QUICK TIP:
Chew on fennel seeds
Chewing on a pinch of fennel seeds after meals can help freshen your breath.

Nutrition Connection
Your breath is what you eat. For either occasional halitosis or chronic bad breath, here are a few guidelines:
-Drink plenty of water. Quaffing a big glass of water after every meal will help flush out the bits of food that stench-producing bacteria thrive on. Water also helps you produce saliva, which helps the mouth cleanse itself.
-Chew sugar-free gum. Chewing gum sweetened with xylitol—a natural, low-calorie sugar—helps cleanse breath because xylitol curbs the growth of bacteria in the mouth. The gum itself helps loosen trapped food particles and increases saliva production. For best results, chew for at least five minutes after every meal. -Reach for raw veggies. Those rich in vitamin C, such as broccoli and red bell pepper, are particularly good fighters of bad breath, because they create an unfriendly environment for bacteria. What’s more, eating raw, crunchy vegetables helps remove food particles stuck between teeth.

Beyond the Diet
Some lifestyle choices affects your breath. Here’s what you should do to freshen up:
-Enforce a tobacco taboo. A mouth that smells like an ashtray is yet another reason to stop smoking. -Launder those dentures. Improperly cleaned dentures house smelly bacteria, fungi and food particles, which cause bad breath.
-Brush your tongue. When you brush your teeth, pass your soft toothbrush over your tongue a few times to dislodge bacteria. Some people use tongue scraper tools, but there’s little evidence that they’re any more effective than simple brushing.