Most of us pay great attention to our oral hygiene, because we don’t want to experience bad breath or tooth decay. However, we can’t deny the fact that there were instances where our breath smelled a little weird especially during the morning. Bad breath could affect your social life, making you self-conscious and lower your self esteem. Fortunately, there are natural ways on how you can fight this problem.
Brush and Floss More Often
One of the main causes of bad breath is plaque buildup. This sticky buildup in your mouth, especially during those times that you’re too lazy to brush your teeth, could be the breeding ground for bacteria. Likewise, if you eat often, the food you eat could get caught in between your teeth and add to that problem. With that, it’s highly recommended to brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss regularly after each meal. If you’re worried about your bad breath, you could brush more often, but be careful and do it gently. Also, don’t brush aggressively either, because it could wear down the enamel and your teeth would be more vulnerable to tooth decay.
Scrape Your Tongue
The white coating you often notice on your tongue could be the cause of your bad breath, because it could harbor and attract bacteria. In order to get rid of that, gently brush your tongue using a regular toothbrush. However, if it’s impossible for you to reach the back of your tongue, a tongue scraper would be more ideal for this. They’re specifically designed to clean the tongue thoroughly, removing the bacteria, food debris, and even the dead cells that a toothbrush can’t.
Stay Away from Foods That Sour the Breath
Garlic and onions are considered to be the primary offenders and could also be the reason why your breath stinks. Likewise, even though you brush your teeth after eating them, it doesn’t really solve the problem. The volatile substances this duo contain could make their way into your bloodstreamand it is bad for health, travel to the lungs, and obviously, you’re going to breath them out. The only way to avoid the problem is to stay away from these, especially if you’re going to attend a meeting or a social gathering.
Keep Your Mouth Moisturized
A dry mouth equals stinky mouth. That’s the reason why your breath smells weird during the morning, because your mouth produces less saliva during your slumber. Saliva is the arch enemy of bad breath, because aside from washing away the bacteria, it’s also an antiseptic that could kill the bacteria.
The best way to keep your mouth moist is by chewing gum, because it stimulates saliva production. Likewise, you could also drink more water, but swish it between your teeth first, especially if you want to wash your mouth.
Don’t Smoke
If you’re a chronic smoker, then you breath probably stinks and maybe you should stop with that habit now. Smoking damages the gum tissues and it could also stain the teeth. Aside from bad breath, smoking could also cause oral cancer. You could always try those over-the-counter nicotine patches to tame the urge.
