In Search of Bad Breath Home Remedies
Looking for an easy home remedy for bad breath that really works? You’re in luck! Bad breath is one of the most annoying and embarrassing yet nearly universal of all health problems. Fortunately, most of the time it is not necessary to see a doctor or a dentist or a physician specializing in bad breath treatment. You probably have all of the ingredients to make a real bad remedy right at home, and this article will tell you everything you need to know to use them.
Bad Breath is a Common Problem
Everybody gets bad breath. Older people, younger people, men, women, and children of all races and all socioeconomic levels can get bad breath.
The problem for most people who have bad breath is that some of the same conditions that cause bad breath, tonsillitis or sinusitis, for example, also keep the person who has bad breath from knowing that he or she has it. And while some of us have only occasional bad breath, others of us have bad breath that lingers so long that it becomes part of the way other people know us, a little like the unfortunate child whose playmates name “Stinky.”
This article will offer remedies for both occasional bad breath, the kind that comes and goes, and chronic bad breath, known as halitosis. But first let’s go over some of the causes of bad breath.
Why Breath Goes Bad
If you want to blame something for your bad breath, most of the time you should not blame yourself You should blame bacteria. These invisible microorganisms usually are responsible for bad breath odor.
In small numbers, the 20 different species of bacteria that can cause bad breath actually aren’t a bad thing. They recycle the cellular debris that falls off your tongue and gums and the lining of your mouth. They keep these dead cells from accumulating in the pocket between each of your teeth and your gums known as the sulcus. The problem comes when there is so much die-off of the cells in the lining of you mouth, as when you have chemo or radiation for cancer, or there are tiny particles of food trapped in the crevices and cracks of the lining of your tongue and gums.
Bad breath bacteria don’t use all of the nutrition your mouth provides them. They release certain amino acids that they can’t use back into the mouth. These amino acids all contain sulfur. Enzymes in your mouth and in the bacteria convert the amino acids into volatile sulfur compounds (sometimes known as VSCs) such as hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan, the chemicals identified as rotten egg odor or sewer gas, respectively.
Your mouth very literally can smell like an open sewer. Even worse, VSCs themselves can kill cells in the lining of your gums and tongue, creating still more cellular debris on which still more bacteria can feed, producing still more VSCs. If you don’t take care of bad breath, it becomes a self-perpetuating problem.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it.
Home Remedies for Bad Breath that Work
Whether you have acute bad breath or the chronic bad breath known as halitosis, you want to get rid of it. Here are some easy home remedies that really work.
Baking soda can remove bad breath odor in your mouth the same way it can remove bad breath odor in your refrigerator. Probably the easiest way to use baking soda to get rid of bad breath is to buy one of the several brands of baking soda toothpaste you can find everywhere toothpaste is sold. You can also make a slurry of baking soda, mixing about a teaspoon of baking soda (that’s the equivalent of about 5 grams) in just enough water to make a paste. It won’t taste all that good, but it will definitely get the odor out fast. Since the anti-odor action of baking soda depends on the mixture having the right pH, don’t sweeten it with juice or soft drinks or sugar. They defeat the point of brushing.
Lemon juice smells great. A little lemon juice in warm water makes a surprisingly effective mouthwash. It will stimulate salivation, which helps keep your mouth moist and clean. Just don’t mix the lemon juice with baking soda, since they will cancel each other out.
Eat citrus fruit every day. Eating smaller portions several times a day is better than eating, say, a whole grapefruit all at once. Like lemon juice, citrus fruit freshens the breath. It’s also a great source of vitamin C, a vitamin your gums and tongue need to make collagen, which holds cells in place. Collagen keeps your gums strong and helps prevent teeth from coming loose. It also reduces the flaking of tissues into the mouth on which bacteria will feed.
And the most commonly overlooked of all the effective home remedies for bad breath? Water! Just sipping water as you eat a meal flavored with curry or onions or garlic will reduce bad breath. And using a oral irrigation device like Hydrofloss or the Oxycare 3000 will gently remove the bacteria and tartar under your gums that provide an ongoing home for the bacteria that cause bad breath. Oral irrigators require an upfront investment, but once you start using them they can pay for themselves many times over.
All of these methods will help relieve all kinds of bad breath. They won’t cure bad breath, but they will help you keep it under control.
If you have bad breath and you are looking for a bad breath cure from home, then consider the home remedies above for treatment. As this article shows, you do not have to go far to get bad breath home remedies – they’re in the comfort of your own home.
