Say bye to bad breath

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Bad Breath? No problem-Seven steps to make your breath smell good.

Talking to someone without brushing your teeth early in the morning would be the last thing you would want to do. Ewww! The thought itself makes you feel disgusted right? Ever thought about what causes the bad odour?

How good smelling is your breath?

If you have a doubt about your breath, simple, take a test. Keep your palm in front of your face and know yourself. If you feel its bad then read the following tips to make your breath smell good.

This is not new to you; it is the bacteria, which live on our teeth and gums, that cause the bad breath. The actual culprits are volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) created by the bacteria that give your breath its foul odour. The minimum duration required to brush all tooth surfaces is 2-3 minutes, but sadly most of the people spend less than a minute in brushing their teeth. Brushing your teeth is not sufficient to remove the bacteria hiding in the spaces between teeth. You need to floss to remove the bacteria. Brushing without flossing is like washing only 70% of your body when you bathe - the other 30% remains dirty.

Brushing and flossing too doesn't solve the problem. There will still be some odour causing bacteria hiding deep within the crevices of your tongue. These bacteria are anaerobic-they cannot live in oxygen. They live safe from oxygen under a protective layer of your mucous, food particles and proteins. Cleaning your tongue with a tongue cleaner can remove this layer and much of the bacteria, which resides on your tongue. Remember to clean near the back of the tongue where most of the bacteria reside.

A dry mouth is the most ideal environment for the odour causing bacteria to survive. Saliva normally keeps the mouth moist. Additionally, saliva helps wash away the food particles that bacteria feed on and dissolves odorous volatile sulphur compounds. Actions, which dry the mouth or reduce saliva flow can increase bad breath odour. These include smoking, drinking alcohol, exercising, excessive talking and usage of prescription medications including antihistamines and decongestants. Drink a lot of water to stimulate the saliva flow as it washes away leftover food particles and moistens the mouth making the chances less for the bacteria to survive

Mouthwashes containing chlorine dioxide are the latest advances against bad breath. Conventional mouthwashes at best can only mask your bad breath odour for a few hours. At worst, conventional mouthwashes can make the situation worse by drying out the mouth making it more hospitable to odour producing bacteria.

If you are not able to brush after a meal or snack, consider chewing sugarless gum. This chewing action helps cleanse the teeth and stimulates the flow of saliva. Saliva in turn further helps to cleanse the mouth and dissolves odorous volatile sulphur compounds. Make sure, however, to use gum, which does not contain sugar.

Visit a dentist at least once a year. This is because most of the people only visit dentists after the damage has occurred. This could be prevented. A dentist can recognize potentially damaging problems early. In addition, the dentist can diagnose other problems, which cause bad breath including abscesses, periodontal disease, and impacted teeth.

Follow the above tips and see the smile on faces around you.