Bad breath can be a notoriously sneaky and therefore embarrassing issue. You might not even know you have bad breath until your loved ones are ducking away when you go in for a kiss! Here a few tips on how to prevent bad breath, so you can go out into the world with the confidence that comes from fresh breath.

Avoid Stinky Foods

It seems like the more delicious and flavorful the cuisine, the stinkier it makes your breath! Garlic and onions are some of the worst, but there are other culprits too, such as coffee. Unfortunately, brushing your teeth is often not enough to get rid of these odors. The stinky compounds in these foods are absorbed into your bloodstream, causing your to exhale odor from your lungs, not just your mouth. The only way to get rid of garlic breath is to avoid eating garlic.

Brush Your Tongue

Everyone knows you should brush your teeth. Most people know that brushing your teeth also includes brushing your gumline. Not everyone knows that you should be brushing your tongue too. The tongue’s bumpy surface is a great place for odor-causing bacteria to hide, so adding brushing your tongue (or scraping it with a tongue scraper) is a great way to improve both your breath. That same bacteria, if left on your tongue, can get back on your clean teeth and potentially cause tooth decay.

Treat Dry Mouth

The saliva in your mouth is one of your body’s best self-cleaning mechanisms. Saliva helps wash away bacteria and debris in your mouth that could cause tooth decay if allowed to stick around. That same bacteria can also cause bad breath. By keeping your mouth moist, you can prevent decay and keep your breath fresh. The best way to do this is by staying hydrated by drinking lots of water. However, sometimes dry mouth is chronic and can be a side-effect of certain medications. If you find that you have dry mouth despite staying hydrated, you may want to talk to your doctor about your medications and see if there is a way to switch to one that doesn’t have this side effect. You can also talk to the dentist about over-the-counter and prescription solutions for dry mouth, such as special rinses.

Did you know there is a super simple way to help prevent bad breath that you should actually already be doing? This should already be part of your dental hygiene routine in order to prevent tooth decay, but it’s also a great way to get rid of germs that cause bad breath. Can you guess what it is? We’ll give you a hint: you’ve probably lied to your hygienist about it.

The answer: Flossing!

If the threat of gum disease and cavities isn’t enough to get you flossing everyday, maybe the idea of embarrassing bad breath will be. The importance of flossing can be hard to perceive, because unlike the plaque on the fronts and backs of your teeth, the plaque between them is harder to see and impossible to feel. But there’s a very good chance the people around you can smell it.

When you only brush your teeth you miss out on cleaning a significant amount of the surface of your teeth. Unlike brushing, flossing allows you to go as much as 2 millimeters under your gums, allowing you to remove unseen bacteria from the surface of your teeth. If it isn’t removed, this bacteria will sit in your mouth and start expelling the stinky gasses that cause bad breath.

Remember, it is especially important to floss if you have dental implants or a dental bridge. These “replacement teeth” offer more places for food particles and the bacteria that feeds off them to hide. While crowns and implants aren’t vulnerable to cavities, they also don’t make you immune to gum disease! There are special kinds of floss that make getting in and around your dental prosthesis easier than with traditional floss. Water picks are also good alternatives to floss that can flush away stinky breath bacteria.

If you want a tutorial on the best way to floss for your particular oral health situation, please ask us at your next visit. We would be happy to give you a refresher to improve your dental hygiene routine!