The Magic of a Bad Breath Home Remedy
Are you concerned about bad breath, or worried that you might need to be concerned about bad breath? Are you looking to save money with a killer home remedy that will get rid of bad breath?
This site is the place to find all of the best remedies for bad breath. And some of them don’t cost anything at all. To make any bad breath home remedy work, however, first you need to know what is causing your bad breath.
The Number One Cause of Bad Breath
There are some really dreadful diseases that can cause bad breath. Liver failure, kidney failure, diabetic ketoacidosis, and ischemic colon are just the four most deadly health conditions that can also cause bad breath. While you should get any symptoms of any of these conditions looked at by a doctor as soon as possible, there’s a 99+% chance that your bad breath is not caused by any condition that can threaten your life.
And there’s also a 99+% chance that your bad breath is not caused by failure to take care of oral hygiene. Bad breath is, for the most part, caused by bad breath bacteria. These bacteria break down the amino acids in dead tissues in your mouth, but they don’t use all of the amino acids, especially three amino acids that are especially high in sulfur. These amino acids are converted by enzymes into volatile sulfur compounds that vaporize in your mouth and cause the same kinds of odor you encounter in rotten eggs and sewer gas.
There is a minimum level of volatile sulfur compounds that is detectable by the human nose. You may have noticed your dog or cat pulling back for you when you thought your breath was fine—but an animal’s nose can detect lower levels of these odor-causing chemicals. Sometimes just brushing your teeth will remove enough bad breath bacteria that bad breath stops being noticeable, but sometimes you won’t.
Getting Rid of Bad Breath Bacteria
Brushing your teeth, preferably after every meal, is essential to controlling bad breath, but it’s usually not enough. Only about 1/3 of the bacteria that live your mouth lie on the surfaces of your teeth you can reach with your brush. The other 2/3 of the bacteria that live in your mouth form a film on the surfaces of your teeth you can’t reach with your toothbrush, under the gum line, or on your tongue.
Getting rid of those other bad breath bacteria may be necessary to get rid of bad breath. If you are on a budget, changing toothpastes to a brand that suds without the action of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and at least loosens the plaque under the gum line may make a little difference. Peroxicare or a baking soda toothpaste will help sweeten your breath a little, but their effects are short-lived. It’s better to use oral irrigation, a technique that breaks up plaque, if you can afford an oral irrigation device, such as Water Pik or Hydrofloss. Just don’t use a toothpick, since it can bruise your gums and press food particles into your gums.
There’s a lot that is written about tongue scraping. If you can’t find or you can’t afford a plastic tongue scraper, it may be better not to “scrape” at all. What you don’t want to do is to bruise your tongue or rub your tongue raw, since these actions can create still more dead tissue that can feed bad breath bacteria. Instead, gently brush your tongue the same way you brush your teeth, taking care to rinse both your mouth and your brush after you brush.
Bad breath bacteria can also lurk in your nose and throat. You can get rid of these bacteria and the slimy film in which they live by using a neti pot. Fill the pot with warm water. Lie down on your side next to a basin in which you can catch water draining out of your nose. Without jamming the tip of the pot up your nose, place the tip of the pot into your nostril at the higher elevation. Allow the water to flow through your nose and out the other nostril—and maybe you don’t want to look at what comes out. That icky debris includes a lot of bad breath bacteria.
Other Home Remedies for Bad Breath that Work
What you do to stop bad breath is a lot more important than what you take to stop bad breath. But there are remedies for bad breath you can make and take that only require simple ingredients you probably keep in your cupboard.
One remedy for bad breath, especially the kind of bad breath you can get after a cold or flu, is sipping a cup of tea. Green tea is best, but everyday orange Pekoe (black) tea works, too. The tannins in tea bind the volatile sulfur compounds that make your breath smell bad. The work best if you add a little acid (such as lemon juice) to the tea, and if you sip tea slowly, warm. Scalding hot tea can kill the lining of your mouth and make bad breath even worse.
Another remedy for bad breath is baking soda. You can sprinkle baking soda on your toothbrush and brush (don’t swallow) or use 1 teaspoon (5 g) of baking soda in 1 cup (240 ml) of warm water as a gargle (again, don’t swallow). It’s best not to add any flavorings, especially fruit juice, since they can cancel out the effects of the baking soda. But you will probably find that baking soda can absorb bad breath odors in your mouth the same way it can absorb bad food odors in your refrigerator.
