If trying totreat halitosisyou will have no doubt read, heard and come across many wonderful and whacky ways that claim to be able to bring an end to our embarrassing problem. However what I have often found difficult is separating the truth and scientific evidence behind their claims from the marketing hype. One thing that I have learnt in all the time I have been helping people to naturally treat halitosis is that for most people they do not need to spend a fortune on these products. Instead many of us can benefit simply be reassessing our daily oral hygiene routines and making sure we do as much as we possibly can to limit the growth of the bacteria that cause halitosis.
This article then hopes to give you some helpful tips in treating halitosis through your daily oral hygiene routine but first we need to understand the root cause of our problem. Bad breath and the chronic bad breath we know as halitosis is caused by bacteria living, breeding and excreting their volatile sulpher compound waste products in the mouth. These bacteria thrive in a dry, acidic and anaerobic environment and so are often concentrated in the sponge like groves at the back of our tongue where a thin layer of natural mucus protects them from oxygenation.
Now, like I said at the start of this article, there are tons of products out there that the big pharmaceuticals are trying to sell us which they claim can solve our problem. Before we go down that route however we want to make sure our oral hygiene routine is doing all it can to prevent this problem in the first place so here are some tips for doing just that.
Tip #1 – Floss First
When we eat particles of food become lodged in the small gaps between our teeth. If left there these particles become an ideal source of food for bad breath causing bacteria. By removing these particles after meals we limit the food available to the bacteria and can help to keep their numbers low.
Tip #2 – Brush Up
Now that we have dislodged any particles of food from between the teeth the next stage of our halitosis treatment is removing any food from the chewing surfaces by through brushing. Spending a full two minutes cleaning the teeth will help eliminate as much of the food particles as possible but also remove plague from the teeth and gum lines. Toothpaste with an active baking soda ingredient will also help to lower the acidity of the mouth which helps to make our mouths a much more inhospitable place for the bad breath causing bacteria.
Tip #3 – Clean Your Tongue
Just incase you didn't know, the bacteria that cause bad breath can often be found concentrated at the back of the tongues where the microscopic spaces between the grooves of the tongue and the thin film of mucus shield them from too much oxygen and provide the ideal conditions for growth. By using a tongue scraper we can clean this area and expose the bacteria to oxygen. The only problem is scrpaing your tongue from back to front can seem avery unnaturally prosses and when you forst do it you will more than likely initiate the gag reflex. Please believe me when I say it just get easier but at the start just take it easy and gently scrape until you start getting used to it
**Bonus Tip**
Lots of people clean their tongue with their toothbrush and while you can do this do you really want bad breath causing bacteria festering on your tooth brush all day and all night? Me neither, so I buy inexpensive tongue scrapers to do the job and thoroughly rinse them after. (if you have to use your tooth brush wash it thoroughly after and then dip into some antibacterial mouthwash also).
Tip #4 – Rinse and Repeat
The final step in our daily oral hygiene routine should be to give our mouths a through rinse with a non alcoholic antibacterial mouth wash. Many mouthwashes, even those that claim to cure bad breath, are alcohol based however alcohol will only serve to try out the mouth and help bacteria to survive, obviously something we want to avoid! Check the mouthwash your using is what we are after and if not be sure to pick some up the next time your at the supermarket.
