Bad breath: treatment

Practice proper oral hygiene techniques

Simply brushing your teeth before you go to bed is not good enough. Taking the time to learn and practice proper oral hygiene techniques will go a long way toward preventing bad breath and protecting your overall health. Good oral hygiene habits include proper brushing, flossing, using toothpicks, and using a tongue brush or a tongue scraper to prevent bacteria build up in your mouth. They also includes regular dental cleanings and checkups with your dentist. During your checkup, the dentist will have an opportunity to check for potentially damaging problems and diagnose other dental problems that can cause bad breath such as periodontal disease.

If you wear dentures or retainers, make sure to take them out every night and clean them properly before putting them in again.

Use a mouthwash - but be wary

Using a mouthwash can be a temporary solution to combating bad breath. You should not however, rely on this as the only treatment. Mouthwashes have not been proven to have any long-term effects on bad breath. Some only last for as little as 10 minutes after brushing and they may actually make the situation worse. Another solution is to rinse your mouth with a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% warm water.

Learn how to prevent dry mouth

If you think dry mouth is a source of your bad breath, try one or all of the following to stimulate and increase the production of saliva.

• chew sugarless gum
• drink lots of water
• use sugarless candy
• snack on foods like raw carrots, celery and peppers

Prevent and treat gum disease

Know and watch for signs of gum disease. Gum disease creates new hiding spots for odour-causing bacteria. If you detect the signs and are quick to stop the problem before or immediately after it occurs, you can prevent the bad breath associated with gum disease.