There is nothing worse than that worried thought, do I have bad breath? This fear can make you feel ashamed and self-conscious; to be made worse if someone else validates the fear.
Thankfully, bad breath can typically be remedied at home with preventative measures. Mix oral hygiene with regular dentist visits and your bad breath fears are sure to disappear.
What Causes Bad Breath?
The most common cause of bad breath is poor oral hygiene. Typically, odours are caused by bacteria building up on your teeth. This bacteria releases toxins and gases which cause bad breath.
Another cause may be diet and lifestyle. Strong foods like garlic and onion can cause bad breath. However, those are temporary until the food is digested. Lifestyle factors that cause prolonged bad breath are smoking, crash dieting, and some medications. Apart from making your mouth smell of cigarettes, smoking irritates the gums and increases the development of gum disease. Crash dieting, which reduces carbohydrate intake, will cause the body to break down fat. That process can produce chemicals in the body called ketones that produce a noticeable odour.
Beating Bad Breath for Good
Your dentist plays a pivotal role in the management and prevention of bad breath. The first step to ridding yourself of bad breath is starting with a visit to your local Morningside dentist. An initial check-up and teeth clean will set you on the path to continue your upkeep independently from home. This also helps to rule out if there are any serious reasons causing your bad breath.
Presuming your bad breath was the result of a lax in your oral upkeep, here is how to prevent it coming back:
Brushing twice daily – You will have heard this advice since you were a small child. What was true then is true now. Brushing twice a day will keep food from building up around and between teeth. This build up is where all of your bad breath problems start.
Flossing daily – Regular brushing alone will not always be effective in removing all food particles. Flossing your teeth daily allows you to get in-between your teeth to remove bacteria and build up. It is important this is done regularly to avoid that build up becoming hard. Once you allow it develop into plaque build up, it will be much harder to remove.
Visiting your dentist regularly – The frequency of these visits will depend on your oral hygiene. If it’s been a while, book an appointment now so that you can get back on track. Your dentist will be able to assess your oral hygiene and give you a plan to best maintain your oral health. If you’re in good health, you may be able to visit every 12-24 months. If there is some work to do, this could be more frequent.
My Dentist at Cannon Hill can also help with smile makeovers for Bulimba residents or Veneers for Morningside. Wherever you are in the area, give us a call on 07 3902 1023 or you can make an appointment online.