A Hygiene How To: Bad Breath

If you are looking for a helpful hygiene how to, bad breath may be the issue you are trying to correct. Bad breath strikes us all from time to time, and to a degree it is normal. After all, we all wake up in the morning with nasty, foul-smelling breath – because we have been asleep for eight hours! This is usually not a symptom of poor oral health. However, if your bad breath is so persistent that it causes you real problems, such as embarrassment in front of other people, then learning how to get rid of bad breath may very well be essential for you. Fortunately, a bad breath cure is within easy reach for approximately 97% of bad breath sufferers.

As I said above, there are generally two types of bad breath. When we sleep, bacteria gather in our mouth. These bacteria normally wouldn’t be there, and in fact are cleansed when we brush, but obviously we cannot brush our teeth in our sleep! Therefore, bacteria will build up and form on your tongue and on the roof of your mouth, leaving you with an icky feeling that makes you want to run for the toothbrush and toothpaste. This is normal.

The second type, however, is not normal. This type is when bad breath happens pretty consistently, and does not go away but keeps on happening. We call this type halitosis – or chronic bad breath. There are multiple causes of halitosis that we will now cover:

Poor oral hygiene - The most common cause of chronic bad breath is not taking care of your mouth. Your teeth, gums, tongue, and soft tissue need regular care in order to keep them healthy. When this does not happen, bacteria gather and collect on your soft tissue parts, resulting in not only bad breath but unhealthy conditions. Too much bacteria on your teeth, for example, can result in plaque, or can form acid that eats away at your enamel. But bad breath is a frequent symptom that arises from poor hygiene.

Gum disease - Gum disease generally happens as a result of poor hygiene, and is when bacteria enters your gums and makes the gum inflamed. When your gum is inflamed, it becomes sensitive and may even bleed when brushed. Bad breath can result from the bacteria that gather in the swollen gums, so it is important to brush along the gum line regularly.

Sore throat - A sore throat can be caused by a multitude of factors, many of which result in bad breath. One such example is strep throat. The streptococcus bacteria that form on your throat put off bad odors, which waft upwards through your throat and into your mouth. As long as this illness persists, you will have halitosis. You can stop this with antibiotics obtained from your doctor.

The best way to prevent bad breath is to brush your teeth regularly with fluoride toothpaste, especially around the gum line. As I mentioned above, poor oral hygiene is the most frequent cause of long-term bad breath (and can even cause short-term bad breath as well). But, some of these other causes can be fixed as well. For more information, I recommend consulting your dentist, or your primary care physician if you suspect something like strep throat is causing your bad breath. Again, if you use the information obtained in this how to, bad breath will fade away like a distant memory.