BREAKING BAD BREATH

Talking globally, 1 in 4 people suffer from Bad Breath or have self perceived halitosis, i.e.

they feel that their mouth smells awful.

Coming to India, about 54% of people have been found to have self perceived halitosis.

Knowing the fact that your mouth smells bad can lead to low self esteem &

consciousness while talking; which may lead to a comprised social life, that is why store

shelves are flooded with gums & candies to hide Bad Breath.

Thus, Bad Breath becomes the 3rd most common reason worldwide due to which people come to visit a dentist.

Before we get into its causes & solutions, we must know if we suffer from it or not.

So, we take a simple test for it.

 Lick the back of your hand and smell it after 10 seconds. If it smells bad, you have a

bad breath.

90% of the Bad breath originates from mouth. Rest 10 % is due to tonsillitis & other ENT

infections.

CAUSES & SOLUTION:

 Poor oral hygiene- Having pyrrhoea &/or coated tongue.

Solution: 1.Get scaling done

2. Brush your teeth in correct way

3. Clean your tongue with tongue cleaner given on the

back of toothbrush.

 Dry mouth- means having less saliva in mouth.

Can be because of the following Reasons:

1.Natural.

2.Presence of any disease.

3.Reaction to medicines.

4. Radiation therapy.

Solution:

1.Drink plenty of water to keep your mouth hydrated.

2.If you feel it is due to any medicines that you are having,

ask your doctor to change the medication.

 Smoking & Alcohol-

Solution: Quit smoking & alcohol.

 Foods- Garlic, onion, spicy food, too much sugar, sticky foods can make your breath worse.

Solution:

1.Avoid such foods

2. Brush after having them.

 Do you complain of waking up with a bad breath?

Cause:

Teeth & Tongue not cleaned before going to bed, so bacteria are present in mouth.

Saliva is not present to wash out. Mouth becomes dry when we sleep bacteria grow

& cause bad breath.

Solution: Brush your teeth and clean your tongue thoroughly before going to bed.

We discussed what to do,

Now we need to discuss what not to do.

DON'TS

 Excessive use of mouthwash to fight Bad Breath:

Mouthwash should only be used when teeth are clean ( means scaling has been

done by dentist) otherwise it will react with rotten food stuck on gums & teeth &

will cause an even worse smell.

 Breath Mints:

Such as POLO- mouth feels fresh temporarily, but gums contains sugar whose continous use can cause cavities.

 Sugarfree Chewing Gums:

Using chewing gums only can temporary masks the odour, does not treat it.

If you are so habitual of using chewing gums, you can have ones that contain

Xylitol- helps in washing your mouth.

But basic cleaning of teeth & scaling by a Dentist is A must to fight Bad Breath.