Hi everyone, it's no news that bad breath plagues everyone every now and then; but for some, it lingers with them for the whole day. I did some research on the subject, and found that the medical term for it is "halitosis". For some, it's said to be caused by some gum disease, while for some others, I suppose it's caused by some problems in the intestinal walls. This category of patients, they say can have this bad breath even from their nostrils - terrible. I even hear it could be hereditary. Question is: what are the proven ways to deal with bad breath. Please share your ideas
I don't about 'proven ways' but these can help: Watch your diet. Fact is what you eat is exactly what you'll breathe out [according the the experts that is]. Drinking lots of water after you eat could be helpful too, if you don't brush your teeth after you eat. Smoking can also give you a bad breath. If you are a smoker and quit smoking then probably, your mouth won't smell that bad. Be a gum chewer. Especially flavored ones.
Obviously brushing your teeth after the meetings is the way to go to avoid bad breath. Also, it's important to make sure to brush your tongue as well, as bad breath will usually come from the tongue. If you don't have tooth brush and paste available and you fear you have bad breath, it's always good to have mint gum with you.
Drinking coffee is a great source of bad breath. Other strong things you eat will linger for awhile on your breath so you must be aware to either have gum to help reduce the aroma of what you ate at all time. Keep your gums and teeth in good condition and keep your stomach in good working condition. If you have a problem with your bowels it will come out in your breath also. Drinking water does help to keep your insides clean, since we can not give our insides a bath to reduce odor.
Hi, great tips. Let me try to outline your points. You've said, to cure bad breath, do the following: 1. Watch what you eat 2. Drink lots of water after eating, especially if you don't brush your teeth after eating 3. Quit smoking 4. Become a gum chewer Considering the first point above, what kinds of food do you suggest that halitosis patients eat in order to deal with their condition? I also stumbled on an article which suggested the use of yoghurts. What's your take on this? Thanks for stopping by and making your contributions, I believe these will go a long way to help a lot of people. Hi, thanks for your input. I concur with you with respect to the fact that bad breath usually comes from the tongue. However, it's unfortunate that we can't always brush our teeth immediately after eating. Some times we might just be in an eatery or some place that doesn't just make brushing the teeth possible. Considering the mint gum, I think that's a nice one. Thanks a lot for stopping by; your contribution is highly valued. Wow! I love this. Such heavy tips you've given here. In fact, the point you made regarding the bowels having problems is really strong. I sure think that some bad breath problems stem from the problems arising in the intestine, considering the fact that research has shown that some people even have bad breath from the nose. Now, I still have some questions to ask though. 1. What does the phrase "strong things we eat" (as used in your post above) mean? 2. What things do you advice people to do in order to keep their stomachs in good condition. Drinking water is one of the, I guess? Thanks a lot for your contributions. They are really helpful.
I think the cause of bad breath varies from person to person, so I guess to rule out the causes you should have to see a dentist, an ENT, and an internist to see if they can see something wrong in there. Sometimes it's also caused by other causes like kidney disease, bacterial imbalance, or impacted wisdom tooth, so you really should check out various doctors to determine what's causing it.
Hi sidney, thanks for stopping by. I think you also have a point there about seeing a dentist. Sometimes it's just too difficult to pin point what the exact cause of bad breath is. Seeing a dentist sure eliminates the trial and error thing. I'll surely keep that in mind. Once again, thanks for your contribution. I really appreciate.
Chronic bad breath can have many different reasons, such as digestive problems and gum disease, as you have already mentioned. Bad breath is always a signal that the body is sending to tell us that there is something out of balance. So, ignoring it, or trying to cover it up with common means, is probably not the best solution. It would better to monitor one's diet and personal habits more closely, and seek out a health care practitioner is it doesn't improve.
Nice one Dora M; I concur with you, as touching the point you made, that bad breath is a sign that something in the body is out of balance. Now, considering your advice to monitor diets and personal habits; what types of diets would you recommend for bad breath victims? Also, precisely what are the habits to be monitored in order to deal with the issue? Thank you so much Dora, for taking the time to comment. your contribution is highly appreciated.
Using mouthwash after brushing teeth can be very effective. I myself don't have halitosis but I make sure to use mouthwash if I'm going out, just to be safe. I prefer the stronger ones and sometimes I even go for the concentrate, because I can feel their effect for longer whereas the weaker ones don't leave enough of a sting to make me feel like they are still there hours later, although I'm sure they work as well.
If it's bad breath caused by food or your mouth in general, I guess those mouthwashes are quite effective. I'd suggest buying those that are non-alcoholic, they are better. As for halitosis, eating a lot of vegetables and fruits can help improve the situation. My dad has halitosis, ever since he started increasing his fruit diet his condition has improved significantly. One other thing is drinking a lot of water, plain water preferably. Don't opt to chew gums or take those mints, they don't work and actually make it worse after the smell is gone.
Hi DrRipley, thank you very much for taking the time to share this. I really appreciate. Now, I want to ask this question with respect to the mouthwash thing you mentioned. What are the mouthwashes you currently use? I mean, are there some you can personally recommend to a would-be user? Thanks again for taking the time to share, I really appreciate. I also look forward to receiving your response.
Brush your tounge (not that it will make that much of a difference). Mouth wash everyday wont always work try once every two or three days. Change your diet (i dont know your diet) but dont have any junk food all fruit and veggies will help.
Hi daimashin, thanks for sharing. very thoughtful points you've made here. I've heard a few others(including you, now) recommend the use of fruits by people who suspect they have bad breath occasionally. I think the use of water is also a good one, only it's not always practically possible to use water. This one's very funny. I remember recommending this at one time to a patient who later confessed that the pain inherited around the jaws and head after chewing the gums for a while were worse than the bad breath itself. Anyways, thank you very much for sharing; I really appreciate.
I have heard of this. But to help, watch your diet. Eat healthy and not foods that can induce bad breath. Breath through your mouth once in a while. Brush your teeth,gums, tongue, floss, and use mouth wash. It should help a little bit.
Drink more water. 6 glasses per day really helps. Also floss daily and brush at least 3 times a day. Eat regularly. Brush after sweets. Brush tongue and back teeth well. These are some of the things I do. Also eating fresh ginger helps. Just slice a thin slice from a fresh root and eat.
The main way to prevent bad breath is proper hygiene. Watching what you eat and brushing afterwards is the common method. Drinking plenty of water helps as well. If you have a condition, you may have to keep gum and breath mints handy. I read that increasing your carb intake can help as well. For me just using baking soda laced toothpaste is good enough.
Personally, I use an effective mouthwash, that has been proven to fully treat and reduce the occurrence of gum diseases such as gingivitis, which lead to bad breath. I found some really helpful tips to treat bad breath on health.howstuffworks.com: 1. Brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day, and floss. This will get rid of the remnants of food that stay lodged between your teeth, and which give bad bacteria something to feed on. 2. Secondly, it's important to actually clean your tongue well in the process of brushing your teeth. It's not just your teeth that need attention when you're brushing thoroughly. There's actually good bacteria that prevents bad breath, located at the top of your tongue. But when it multiplies too much, it causes a bad odor, so you need to brush off the excess on your tongue, when you brush your teeth. 3. It's important also to keep hydrated by drinking lots of water. A dry mouth is the "playground" for bad bacteria, so keeping your mouth hydrated and producing enough saliva, wards against the continued production of bad bacteria in your mouth. 4. Don't Chew Gum that has Sugar, because that encourages the production of bad bacteria, which will stink up your mouth, and finally, 5. Plan What Foods You Eat: There are certain foods that we know trigger bad breath, like food containing garlic, onions, and actually a high-protein and low-carb diet, which all lead to bad breath, or make it harder to fight. There are several more tips on this and many other sites, and it's important that we practice them, even if we don't necessarily suffer from bad breath, because we should keep our mouths in the best shape. Prevention is always better than cure.
