Bad Breath II

We’d like to talk a little more about bad breath. (We won’t stand too close!) This is one of those situations where you can be led to better overall health and definitely better oral health by attacking a seemingly superficial problem. If it helps your personal and professional life too- that’s great!

We closed our previous article talking about the importance of electric toothbrushes. Here’s a little more: One of the reasons that electric toothbrushes are so effective is that they help you keep consistent pressure and strokes throughout your mouth. We’re all guilty of getting bored or lazy while brushing our teeth and if we’re brushing the sections of our mouths in the same order then we may be neglecting the same spot continually. What happens then is development of plaque and bacteria, causing cost, pain, and bad odor. The technique required for electric brushes keeps you on track for your entire mouth. Most new models also have timers too!

How about smoking? We don’t want to put smokers on the defensive but it, in itself, is gross and will give you bad breath. It gets more complex too. Smoking contributes to dry mouth and causes a decrease in saliva. That saliva washes away harmful bacteria that cause decay and bad odors. If you smoke long enough to develop serious lung problems then those will cause bad odors too but at that point you may have more serious thoughts on your mind. On the short term, focus on the dry mouth and take steps to quit. You will need to try more than once.

Your diet will have an impact on the odor of your breath. Crisp vegetables and fruit will help. Think about carrots, and celery, and apples as being like sugar-less gum: they’ll help get particles out of your teeth. Be careful on those fad diets that include fasting and “cleanses.” An empty stomach doesn’t lead to pleasant breath. Traditional foods associated with bad breath like garlic and onions will indeed give you bad breath as they’re absorbed into your bloodstream. Heavier users of garlic will even experience a worsening of body odor.

We’ll repeat what we said about food particles in your teeth: get them out of there! You can use sugarless gum or Xylitol candy on the short-term and then floss when whenever you normally do. You can read more at the Dental Optimizer’s library: https://www.dentaloptimizer.com/dental-articles-education/