Toothbrushes Blog

I’ve Got 99 Problems But Bad Breath Is Not One Of Them!

Written by Advice Team on February 10, 2016

Bad breath (halitosis) is a common problem that can affect anyone at any age. About one in four people are thought to have bad breath on a regular basis.

Bad breath can be the result of numerous things, but it's usually caused by poor oral hygiene and ineffective teeth brushing. Throughout the day bacteria naturally builds up in your mouth and feeds off any particles of food caught between teeth and sugars left on the surface of teeth, tongue and gums. As the bacteria breaks down these substances it releases an unpleasant-smelling gas which is released as bad breath.

Eating strongly flavoured foods and drinks, such as onions and garlic, coffee and alcohol can also cause your breath to smell as can infection or illness, excessive dieting or taking certain types of medication.

Good oral hygiene is the key to preventing and reducing bad breath. Ideally, you should brush and floss after every meal to help remove or reduce the odour-causing bacteria in your mouth. While a manual toothbrush can be enough for most people to ensure a good standard of oral hygiene many dental professionals believe that the electric variety can be more effective and deliver a better clean.

More ways to prevent bad breath:

• Stay hydrated by drinking lots of pure still water. If you can't brush your teeth after a meal, drinking a lot of water can help flush your mouth, speeding up the process of cleaning harmful bacteria and debris from between your teeth and reducing the sugars and acids left on the surfaces of your mouth. Drinking milk can also help deodorize some offensive breath odours.

• Don't drink too much caffeine. Tea and coffee are daytime staples but coffee in particular is an extremely strong smell that is difficult to get off the back of your tongue causing coffee-breath. Consider switching to a herbal or green tea or hot water with lemon as an alternative hot drink.

• Don't smoke or use other tobacco products. As well as causing yellowing teeth and fingers and being detrimental for your health, potentially leading to mouth, throat and lung cancer, smoking can give people terribly bad breath.

• Cut back on alcohol.The smell of alcohol lingers and can remain for up to eight to ten hours after you finish drinking giving you morning-after-the-night before breath. Too much beer, wine, and spirits can cause severe dehydration which also causes bad breath in it’s own right..

• Breath mints are not a cure. Sugar-free mints and chewing gum are OK for a quick fix but only mask the offensive smell of bad breath and don't do anything to remove the harmful bad bacteria. Brushing and flossing after meals is far more effective. If you do need to grab a mint to freshen your breath always choose a sugar-free option otherwise the sugar will only sit on your teeth and make the problem worse!

• Some mouthwashes or mouth rinses can help reduce bacteria-causing plaque and fight bad breath. Choose an antiseptic or antibacterial rinse that kills bacteria, rather than a cosmetic rinse that just focuses on freshening the breath.