You can easily tell if your breath stinks by through a breath test. This involves placing the palm of your hands in front of your mouth and then breathing out. You can also observe how people behave when you try whispering something to them.
Having a bad breath is one of the worst experiences that one can ever have. Medically, this condition is known as halitosis. It is estimated that 30 % of the world’s population suffers from this problem. How can you get rid of bad breath?
why do I have a foul smelly breath
If this question is ringing in your mind, just know that you are not alone. Halitosis is not only embarrassing but also a leading cause of low self-esteem. The foul smell strongly comes from the mouth cavity, especially after shutting your mouth for quite some time.
Where does this foul smell come from? While some smell might emanate from your stomach, 90 % of it comes from the mouth, tonsils, and throat. Can brushing help this condition?
You should clearly know that this objectionable smell is not because of not brushing your teeth. There are people who brush their teeth four times in a day, and yet they have halitosis. In fact, many people across the globe are constantly looking for effective remedies for bad breath, commonly known as halitosis, ozostomia, stomatodysodia or fetor oris.
Before researching on how to cure bad breath permanently, you should first understand the factors behind it. There are numerous sulfur-producing and anaerobic bacteria that thrive in your mouth. These bacteria hide under your tongue, between the teeth, and around the throat region.
Being anaerobic, most of these bacteria grow and multiply in your mouth in the absence of oxygen. They don’t thrive well in the presence of oxygen, especially during the day when the mouth is open most of the times. This explains why your mouth smells quite bad in the early morning hours.
Although these bacteria are essential in some ways, having halitosis makes one wish they weren’t there. Biologically, these bacteria facilitate digestion of proteins. They, in this case, feed on proteins left in your mouth, especially when one does not observe oral hygiene.
When these bacteria feed, the excrete sulfur. Most of you know the smell of sulfur. The end products of these bacteria are odorous smelling products such as hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan.
Halitosis, however, is attributed to the following 4 factors:
Foods Eaten
Yes, some foods are likely to cause bad breath in your mouth. Foods that contain sulfur compounds such as garlic and onions are good examples of such foods. Other foods such as fish, meat, and dairy products contain proteins that are fed on by anaerobic bacteria in the mouth. Furthermore, products that contain refined sugars such as juices and coffee can also contribute to this foul breath.
Certain Disease
Attack by some chronic illnesses can make you susceptible to halitosis. These conditions may include cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, respiratory tract infections and lung-related complications.
Other conditions that may make your mouth smell quite bad include bronchitis, tonsil stones, sinusitis, pneumonia and yeast infections among others. The use of certain medications to treat these diseases can also contribute to bad smell from your mouth.
Having a dry mouth
In medical terms, having a dry mouth is known as xerostomia. Some people will refer to it as dry mouth syndrome. This condition is characterized with excessive dryness.
The cause of this condition is unknown, though it is sometimes associated with a reduced salivary flow. For some people, smoking and drinking alcohol may cause the condition. When you speak for a long time without taking water, your you can suffer from xerostomia. If your mouth is excessively dry, then you are likely to experience a foul smell coming from it.
Dental Hygiene
This is thought to be the leading cause of halitosis among many people, especially in the third world countries. If you don’t brush your teeth regularly, bacteria tend to build up. This results in a dental plaque. This plague accumulates and builds up along the gum, thus causing halitosis.
Victims of halitosis spend hours of their time researching for treatments and natural remedies. Now that you understand the causes, it is time to deeply examine various options on how to treat bad breath.
To begin with, colgate.com notes that halitosis is manageable. It may not be possible to treat the condition, but you can manage it, and live a normal life just like other people. Therefore, it should not worry you so much.
On ways to fight bad breath naturally, Everydayhealth.com highlights that some of the halitosis treatment options are natural while others make use of contemporary medicine. Others may involve hygiene-related measures.
Commonly, some of the available halitosis treatment options include:
This comes in the form of regular brushing and flossing. This should apply to everyone regardless of where one lives. Brushing and flossing are the surest ways of getting rid of bad breath. If you are thinking of home remedies for bad breath, start with brushing your teeth.
Dentists advise everyone to brush his teeth at least two times in a day. Furthermore, brushing may not remove all food particles from your mouth, especially those that are deeply trapped in between the teeth. In this regard, regular flossing becomes essential.
Don’t just brush your teeth for the sake of doing it. Take time to brush your teeth. Some people take 30 seconds to brush their teeth. Is this time enough? Dentists advise people to take at least three minutes while brushing their teeth. The right formula should also be adopted. In this case, an up-down formula is the best.
We earlier saw that dehydration is a leading cause. One of its best solutions is drinking a lot of water. When the entire body is dehydrated, your mouth is also dehydrated. In case you lack enough saliva, when you are dehydrated, it will be sufficient.
When your mouth lacks enough saliva, anaerobic bacteria develop and multiply. If your daily chores involve a lot of sweating, make sure that you regularly take water. You can banish bad breath by just drinking a lot of water.
There are many people who brush every other part of the mouth except the tongue. Did you know that most of the compounds that cause halitosis thrive in the tongue? Colgate.com identifies that brushing your mouth while ignoring the tongue is dangerous. By doing this, you are telling the sulfur bacteria to continue growing.
If you are thinking of how to cure bad breath, then give your tongue a priority while brushing your teeth. This would help in eliminating amino acids that are responsible for the foul smell emanating from your mouth.
Good diet, especially herbs, is essential in eliminating the awful smell. If you want to know how to cure bad breath coming from the stomach, then here is the solution. According to Everydayhealth.com, you should keep off some foods such as onions and garlic. These, as earlier, mentioned, are likely to trigger halitosis.
Furthermore, highly acidic foods such as vinegar should also be avoided. Anything sugary, moreover, can worsen the already worse condition. A little sacrifice isn’t worth the embarrassment that comes along with this condition.
You should, however, embark on a healthy diet. Some of the foods that reduce bad breath by increasing saliva production include:
With all these diet-related practices, you can be assured of an improved state of your mouth.
This provides an additional protection against plague. After brushing, why can’t you thoroughly rinse your mouth with a mouthwash? Apart from killing anaerobic bacteria, mouthwash helps in keeping your mouth fresh.
Some of the existing mouthwash options that you can use include:
Strict adherence to the recommendations given above can give you relief to halitosis menace. Why can’t you give them a try?
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