Just about everyone, at some point in time, will experience the negative aspects of bad breath. If you’re one of the fortunate few that don’t actually have bad breath ever, you probably have met some people whose breath could wilt flowers, melt paint, and leave people running for cover.
Just because you brush your teeth, floss regularly, and rinse with mouthwash, that doesn’t mean you’re immune to halitosis (bad breath). There are many common causes of bad breath, including:
- What you eat
- Smoking
- Coffee
- Infections
- Dry mouth
- Pneumonia
- Postnasal drip
- Acid reflux
- Poor oral hygiene
For most of these common causes of bad breath, there is a reasonable and simple solution. Brushing and flossing after you eat a meal is one of the simplest. It’s not always practical, so the next opportunity that you have to brush your teeth, at the very least, will help to combat halitosis.
If you smoke or drink coffee, no matter how well you care for your teeth, you’re likely going to have bad breath. If you have an infection, depending on the severity it can have an impact on your breath.
Being sick, suffering from persistent postnasal drip, or having acid reflux can affect your breath as well.
If you brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash regularly and you still find that you have bad breath (or you smoke or drink coffee regularly and aren’t even aware that you may have bad breath), then focus on spending a minute or two each time to brush your tongue and around the gums. The tongue is comprised of thousands of porous buds that can trap food particles and can harbor bacteria. You can also brush the roof of your mouth.
If you don’t smoke or drink coffee, have good oral health, and still have bad breath, visit your doctor. It could be related to a potentially serious health issue that you should address as soon as possible.
For everyone else with bad breath, a visit to your dentist twice a year can help you get better breath and better oral health.