Health Talk: Simple Guides To Reduce Or Avoid Bad Breath

Apart from brushing your mouth 2 or 3 times a day, there are other measures we can take to reduce bad breath. Imagine, coming close to kiss your man/woman and sense bad smell coming out from your own mouth, embarrassing right?. So eating right, brushing right and manicure can help save such embarrassing moment. Yea you read me right!..Manicure your mouth......So let's take the ride below....

DRINK COFFEE — BUT WITHOUT MILK
We all know a cappuccino can leave a strong taste in the mouth. But it’s the dehydrating effect of the caffeine, combined with milk residue fermenting in your mouth, that causes the pong, rather than the coffee beans.In fact, Israeli scientists found that coffee can inhibit the bacteria that lead to bad breath. So if you don’t want to cut back, at least try drinking it black, followed by plenty of water.

SWAP BREAKFAST TEA FOR GREEN
Many of us don't really know the importance of green tea..An even better way to get your caffeine kick, and keep your breath sweet, is switching to green tea. Made from the same plant as your normal cuppa, it retains less caffeine and more polyphenols, which are believed to neutralise the sulphurous gases given off by oral bacteria.

FORGET MOUTHWASH
 Surprise?.Ever noticed that your breath is bad after a night even after using mouthwash? That’s because alcohol is a diuretic, which dries up the saliva needed to break down and rinse away bacteria. But many mouthwashes contain alcohol, too — so when the minty smell wears off, you could be left with even staler breath than before.

GET A TONGUE MANICURE
  Up to 85 per cent of the bacteria that cause bad breath are on the tongue’s surface. Some dentists offer ‘tongue manicures’ to strip away smelly debris, though experts at the British Dental Association say a toothbrush without toothpaste works well, too. Try the Orabrush Tongue Cleaner which claims to keep breath fresh for up to 12 hours(look for them in a supermarket or pharmaceutical shop)

EAT YOGHURT
 If you’ve scraped your tongue and ditched the coffee but your breath is still off-putting, try yoghurt. According to the International Association for Dental Research, volunteers who ate 90g of yoghurt twice a day for six weeks saw an 80 per cent drop in the levels of hydrogen sulphide — a major cause of bad breath — in their saliva.

 DON’T CHEW GUM FOR TOO LONG
 (I'm Guilty as charged on this)That tingling feeling as you suck a fresh-breath mint isn’t killing bacteria. It’s just a sensation. The main reason why chewing gum works is that it stimulates saliva production — but chew for too long and your stomach will produce extra acid in anticipation of food that never arrives, causing different smells. Dr Mel Rosenberg, from the British Dental Association, recommends chewing a piece of sugarless gum for a few minutes, then throwing it away.  

PICK UP A TOOTHPICK
This is the best way to remove food from teeth before it can putrefy. Food that lingers eventually turns to plaque, contributing to bad breath.  

GET CRUNCHY
 Much of our diet is too processed, says dentist Dr Phil Stemmer: ‘Because we chew less, there is less friction and the bacteria is not removed in the digestion process.’ Try eating crisp fruit and vegetables such as apples, celery and carrots.