More Brushing & Flossing
Plaque build up collects bacteria and enhanced bad breath. Brush your teeth 2-3 times a day to keep plaque under control. A very low percentage of people floss everyday but if you really want to take your dental and breath hygiene serious you need to floss.
Just don’t overdue the brushing. If you brush too hard or way too much, you can actually make your teeth vulnerable to decay.
Coconut Oil Pulling
Coconut oil pulling is a natural way to improve your oral health. The general process involves taking a tea spoon of coconut oil and swishing it back in forth in your mouth. Eastern countries have been doing this for years and it’s finally becoming more popular in the United States.
Some of the other benefits other than better breath include: the ability to heal or cure tooth decay, heal bleeding gums, whiten your teeth, strengthen jaw muscles, and overall cleanse your mouth.
The best practice for oil pulling is doing it first thing in the morning. Swish about 1 tea spoon of coconut oil for about 10-20 minutes. It helps do to this during your shower. Then spit it out and rinse your mouth with water. From there you can brush your teeth as normal.
Repeat this process 3-5 times per week for best results.
Scrape Your Tongue
A lot of people forget to brush their tongue. You may notice some people have a white appearance on the center of their tongue. This can be from not scraping or brushing their tongue when they brush their teeth.
Bacteria loves to collect on the tongue and it’s very important to brush it. If your brush isn’t comfortable to brush your tongue then you might want to look into a scraper. These are designed specifically to scrape your tongue.
Avoid Certain Foods
According to a spokesperson from the American Dental Association (ADA) some foods such as onions and garlic have substances that get into your blood stream that travels to your lungs. This causes your breath to smell right from your lungs.
Simply avoid these types of foods before a important social event where you wouldn’t want bad breath.
Drop the Tobacco
Putting the more serious issues such as cancer aside smoking tobacco is a terrible habit. Smoking can damage your gums, stain teeth, and will give you bad breath.
For most people to quit smoking it takes more than nicotine patches. Find local groups in your area that can help you stop smoking. It’s a terrible health habit and should be stopped.
Skip After Dinner Mints Go for the Gum
Avoid sugar mints. Bacteria loves sugar and uses it to make acid. This wears down teeth and causes bad breath. Instead opt for sugarless mints and chewing gum.
Gum is the better option because it stimulates saliva. Saliva acts as a natural defense against bad breath and other negative oral hygiene issues.
Keep Your Gums Healthy
Gum disease causes bacteria to gather at the base of your teeth that causes an odor.
If you start to see signs of gum disease contact your local dentist and schedule a visit.
Keep Your Mouth Moist
You can develop tooth decay and bad breath if you’re not producing enough saliva. If you have dry mouth drink water and always try to keep hydrated in general.
You can also use a humidifier during the night while you sleep to add water in the air. Doing so will help you stay hydrated through the night and help bad breath.
Visit Your Dentist
If your bad breath doesn’t seem to subside no matter your efforts ask your dentist what’s going on. You may also need to visit a doctor due to certain medical conditions that cause bad breath.
Feature image source – Exquisite Smile
