The last reaction you want when you open your mouth to talk, smile, or laugh is someone wrinkling their nose at your breath or leaning away.
It’s embarrassing and can be very hard on your confidence and self-esteem. Halitosis, otherwise known as bad breath, is a social confidence killer.
Bad breath can harm relationships and damage your social life.
If you are among the unlucky people who suffer from bad breath, you know the awkwardness and embarrassment that halitosis can cause.
Not only that, you feel guilt for having driven people away with the smell of your bad breath. Fortunately, in most cases bad breath can be simply treated, and A Plus Dental is here to help you understand the causes and cures of bad breath!
Causes Of Bad Breath
Causes of bad breath are varied. According to the Mayo Clinic, these are the most common:
- Food particles in and around your teeth, particularly sugary or starchy ones, can increase bacteria and cause a foul odor. Certain foods, such as onions, garlic and spices, also cause bad breath. The smell of these foods can enter your bloodstream, reach your lungs and affect your breath.
- Tobacco products.Smoking causes its own unpleasant mouth odor and can lead to gum disease, which also causes bad breath.
- Poor dental hygiene.If you don’t brush and floss daily, food particles remain in your mouth, causing bad breath.
- Dry mouth. Dry mouth can contribute to bad breath because production of cleansing saliva is decreased. Dry mouth occurs naturally during sleep, causing “morning breath,” and it worsens if you breathe through your mouth.
- Some medications have dry mouth as a side-effect, producing bad breath as a result. Others are broken down in the body and release chemicals that are carried on your breath.
- Mouth infections. Mouth infections lead to bad breath.
- Other mouth, nose and throat conditions.Multiple conditions of the mouth, nose, and throat can lead to bacteria, infections, and chronic inflammation, all of which contribute to bad breath.
- Other causes.Diseases can cause bad breath as a result of chemicals they produce. Chronic reflux of stomach acids can be associated with bad breath.
Solutions To Chronic Bad Breath
- Practice good oral care at home. The best advice we can give is to floss daily and brush twice a day. This is step #1 in avoiding many dental health issues.
- Keep your mouth moist. Sucking on sugar-free candy or chewing sugar-free gum gives your mouth a chance to produce saliva between meals. Make sure you are well hydrated as it has many benefits, and can improve your oral health immediately.
- Avoid Smoking. In addition to increasing your risk for cancer, smoking also damages gums, stains teeth, and gives you bad breath.
- Avoid alcohol-based mouthwashes. Alcohol is a drying agent, and though it cleans the mouth, it also produces less-than-ideal conditions after use. So choose a mouthwash that doesn’t contain alcohol, allowing germs to be killed and the mouth’s moist environment to be maintained.
- Scrape your tongue. The bacteria that coat your tongue are a big contributor to bad breath. To remove this smelly bacteria, gently brush your tongue with your toothbrush. For an even more thorough cleaning, invest in a tongue scraper. They apply even pressure to the tongue and remove all the bacteria, food, and dead cells that you can’t typically reach with a toothbrush.
- Eat fruits and vegetables. Chomping on a crispy apple, carrot, or stick of celery can boost saliva and reduce bad breath by washing away bacteria from teeth, gums, and tongue. These snacks also curb your appetite while alleviating bad breath that forms when acid in the stomach builds up because of hunger.
- Visit your A Plus Dental dentist regularly. The best thing you can do to be certain you’re maintaining good oral hygiene is to visit us in Campbelltown regularly. If your bad breath remains despite taking the advice above, schedule a dental appointment so we can help. If you have gum disease, chronic dry mouth, or any other underlying issue, we can help. We can also help diagnose if your halitosis is the result of an internal source and direct you towards appropriate treatment.
If you suffer from bad breath, try these steps to return your breath to fresh and clean. And if you need a dentist in Campbelltown, contact A Plus Dental today! We provide unrivaled dental care.
It All Adds Up at A Plus Dental!
At A Plus Dental our goal is to give our Campbelltown area patients, from infants to seniors, with caring, relaxed treatments in a calm and welcoming environment. When you choose A Plus Dental, you take the next step towards a beautiful, healthy smile with teeth that feel great in your mouth!!
With have over 30 years of experience combined and treat each of our patients with the utmost care and respect.
$99 New patient deal which includes Check up, Cleaning, Fluoride treatment and two X-rays.
Call (02) 4627 3833 or visit us at Suite 3/300 Queen Street in Campbelltown.