Millions – if not billions of people worldwide are affected by bad breath. It’s a very serious problem that can affect your social life, as well as your self-esteem.
As with most dental problems, bad breath isn’t something that stays with you indefinitely. With the right treatment and oral hygiene, this should be a problem of the past in no time. Let’s first discuss how it happens.
Causes Of Bad Breath
Bad breath or halitosis is caused by many reasons. It’s important that you first narrow down which of these factors might be the cause of your problem so that you’ll be given proper treatment.
- The most common reason for bad breath is, of course, poor oral hygiene. If you don’t take care of your teeth well enough, bad bacteria will begin to thrive inside your mouth. In most cases, using antiseptic mouthwash isn’t enough. You need to take out all food particles that are within your mouth.
- The food that you eat can also cause bad breath. There’s no specific food to avoid as the natural digestive process results in bad breath no matter what you do. However, if you have a date or meeting coming up, you might want to avoid garlic, onions, and certain spices as these can leave a lasting impact on your breath.
- Some people also suffer from a condition known as xerostomia or dry mouth. This results in your mouth being unable to produce an adequate amount of saliva. Saliva is an important part of oral health as it actually cleanses your mouth of tiny food particles.
- Lastly, bad breath can also be caused by certain oral health problems and even infections in your mouth and/or systemic conditions .
When To Visit A Dentist Because Of Bad Breath?
If you’ve noticed that your breath has started to become bad, try making lifestyle changes first. Be better when it comes to oral hygiene, change your diet, and be more mindful about your teeth in general.
If the problem persists even after you make all of these changes, then it’s time that you visit the dentist as there could be other problems causing it.
How To Avoid Bad Breath?
- Maintain Good Oral Hygiene
This is the easiest and most important thing you can do to avoid getting bad breath.
Ideally, you should brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss at least once a day. Use a soft-bristle toothbrush and do gentle strokes to prevent damaging the enamel from your teeth. You should also get dentist-approved toothpaste as well.
A lot of people forget about this but you should definitely brush your tongue as well. Ask your dentist for a tongue scraper.
Flossing should also be an important part of your oral health routine. It lets you reach around 40% of your teeth that you can’t easily clean with a toothbrush. You should floss at least once a day, preferably, before you brush your teeth at night.
If you want to kill off even more bacteria in your teeth, then use an antiseptic mouthwash as well, preferably not alcohol-based ones. The use of mouthwashes should not substitute brushing and flossing.
Most of the time, using mouthwash is not necessary, unless the dentist recommends its use for a short period of time to treat gum and periodontal disease.
- Visit The Dentist Regularly
At Smile Ville, we’re advocates of regular dental appointments. Unless you have pressing oral health problems or are getting specific treatments, you’re advised to visit the dentist at least twice a year.
These visits are for regular deep-cleaning services which are important to remove any hard plaque that has accumulated between your teeth and gums and can not be removed with brushing or flossing as the plaque has calcified.
If you have pressing problems with your mouth, schedule an appointment ASAP. These could lead to even more problems that will be harder to treat.
We can also help give you advice on how you can have better breath if you’re having trouble with bad breath.
- Avoid Cigarettes and Vaping
Cigarettes are bad for your health in general. A lot of people think that these only affect your lungs. However, cigarette intake can result in bad breath as well.
Going cold turkey is very difficult and you may require professional help to get rid of this nasty habit. However, you can make the process of avoiding cigarettes a lot easier by getting over-the-counter nicotine patches to help stave off those cravings.
It might seem difficult at first but avoiding cigarettes is doable for everyone.
Do not get into vaping thinking that it will be the solution to quitting nicotine. Vaping is quite new, but news studies started showing that the chemicals in it, could harm your oral and general health,
- Keep Your Mouth Moist
As we’ve said, saliva plays an incredibly important role in keeping your mouth healthy. One way to avoid getting bad breath is to keep your mouth moist.
The best way to do this is by chewing gum. Not just any gum though, go for sugarless gum instead. Keep in mind that sugary treats are bad for your oral health. Chewing sugarless gum is a guilt-free way to stimulate saliva production in your mouth.
Bad breath is a common problem that you shouldn’t be too worried about. Now that you have more knowledge about what causes it and how you can avoid it, you’ll have an easier time preventing the problem from occurring. Don’t let bad breath stop you from enjoying your days.
