Eat fruits and veggies
Did your know fruits and vegetables help freshen your breath? Apples, celery, and carrots act as natural toothbrushes and help remove odor-causing bacteria from your teeth. Oranges (vitamin C) help increase saliva production to fight bad breath.
If you think you might have bad breath, there is a simple test that you can do. Just lick the inside of your wrist and sniff – if the smell is bad, you can be fairly sure that your breath is too. Or, ask a very good friend to be absolutely honest with you; but do make sure they are a true friend.
Your dentist or periodontist may recommend an antimicrobial mouth rinse. Also, you may be told to brush your tongue gently each time you brush your teeth to help remove odor-causing bacteria. Diagnosis and treatment of an existing health condition may get rid of the bad breath.
Causes of bad breath
eating or drinking strong-smelling or spicy foods and drinks. problems with your teeth or gums, such as gum disease, holes in your teeth or an infection. crash dieting. some medical conditions, like dry mouth, tonsillitis and acid reflux.
Poor dental hygiene.
If you don't brush and floss daily, food particles remain in your mouth, causing bad breath. A colorless, sticky film of bacteria (plaque) forms on your teeth. If not brushed away, plaque can irritate your gums and eventually form plaque-filled pockets between your teeth and gums (periodontitis).
Mouth infections can cause bad breath. However, if your dentist has ruled out other causes and you brush and floss every day, your bad breath could be the result of another problem, such as a sinus condition, gastric reflux, diabetes, liver or kidney disease. In this case, see your healthcare provider.
However, many people may be too embarrassed to ask a loved one if the problem needs to be addressed. Another possible reason is our natural inability to actually smell our own breath, caused by an opening in the back of the mouth behind the soft palate, called the pharynx, which connects it to the nose.
“Gum alone doesn't cure bad breath, but chewing gum does help,” Kading says. The mechanical act of chewing helps to pull out debris that may be stuck in teeth. It also helps to produce saliva that clears debris and acts as a buffering agent.
The anticipation of a kiss increases the flow of saliva to your mouth and gives your teeth a plaque-dispersing bath. Bad breath can't be passed on to another person via kissing.
At certain times when we feel anxious, our mouth becomes dry. This is due to the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. Together, these hormones can change the production of the bacteria VSC, making your breath smell bad.
An abscess or infection in your mouth, throat, or lungs may cause your breath to smell like rotting tissue.
Breath that smells like feces can occur with prolonged vomiting, especially when there is a bowel obstruction. It may also occur temporarily if a person has a tube placed through the nose or mouth to drain their stomach.
Bacteria left alone builds on itself and intensifies embarrassing odors. So a twice-daily routine of brushing, flossing, and rinsing with an antiseptic mouthwash like LISTERINE® will prevent most forms of bad breath.
Gingivitis can cause your breath to smell like sulfur or rotten eggs. This is because of the bacteria in your mouth releasing chemicals that smells like these things. If you have gingivitis, you may also notice that your gingiva, or gums, are red and swollen. You may also bleed when you brush or floss your teeth.
“Everyone has morning breath to some degree,” says Sally J. Cram, DDS, a periodontist in the Washington, D.C., area and a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association. Here's the simple reason why: When you sleep, your mouth dries out. When your mouth dries out, odor-producing bacteria proliferate.
While poor oral hygiene can cause a person's breath to smell like poop because of excessive bacterial growth and gum disease, sometimes it's a symptom of a more significant health issue.
Depression often causes a decreased flow of saliva, which causes dry mouth that can turn into bad breath.
People who are anxious tend to breathe in their upper lungs (upper chest) with shallow, rapid breaths, instead of breathing into their lower lungs (lower chest). This is one contribution to hyperventilation: shallow, upper lung breathing.
But your apocrine glands, usually only found in your armpit area, are activated when you're under psychological stress, explains Preti. This sweat produces a strong, sometimes even sulfurous odor when you're anxious or scared.
Obviously avoiding garlic, spicy food, alcohol and cigarettes makes a big difference. Drinking plenty of water during the day and choosing peppermint tea rather than coffee also helps. One thing you could both try is eating a small portion of natural yoghurt every day.
Bad breath, or halitosis, is often caused by a buildup of bacteria in the mouth. Drinking water helps rinse away these bacteria and prevent bad breath.