Bad Breath Causes, Cures & Remedies

Millions of people throughout the world suffer from bad breath. Bad breath is responsible for the embarrassment and destroys relationships with family and friends. It may flatten your confidence and self esteem and may even cause severe depression.

Bad teeth has costed the Australian economy in year 2011 more than $1.3 billion in lost employment, according to an anti-poverty group reprot.

Bad breath is associated with teeth problems. Plaque on the tongue can cause bad breath where bacteria can grow.

Bad breath is due to anaerobic bacteria that live within the surface of the tongue and throat, that produce smelly sulfur compounds when they come in contact with proteins which cause bad breath. Bad breath may be due to a number of reasons:

1. Bad dental hygiene
2. Gum disease
3. Tooth decay
4. Plaque on the tongue can cause bad breath where bacteria can grow.
5. If you do not clean your mouth after consuming alcoholic drinks, tobacco chewing, cigarette smoking, and foods like onions, garlic, etc., it can contribute to bad breadth.
6. Dentures
7. Bacteria in mouth
8. Heavy metal accumulation
9. Some disease like diabetes, gingivitis, esophageal cancer, lung abscess, liver disease, etc.)
10. Excessive use of alcohol based mouthwash like Listerine. If you use such a mouth wash before sleeping, then your mouth will remian dry for tghe whole night, which can cause bad breath.
11. Throat infection
12. Smoking
13. A deficiency of vitamin B and/or zinc may be the cause of your bad breath.
14. Drugs (Paraldehyde, inhaled anesthetics, insulin injection, etc.)

Home Remedies For bad Breath

How to Stop The Bad Breath

1. Brush your teeth in the morning, in the evening, and after every meal, specially after consuming milk products, fish and meat.
2. Brush your tongue along with your teeth regularly.
3. Wash the tongue with baking soda dissolved in warm water to reduce the acidity in your mouth making a less-friendly environment for the bacteria to grow.
4. Brushing and flossing teeth regularly can rid off bad breath.
5. Clean and replace your toothbrush regularly.
6. Avoid mouthwashes with dyes and alcohol. Mouthwash containing cetylpyridinium chloride, chlorine dioxide, sodium chlorite or zinc may serve as an antibacterial agent, that can control the number of anaerobic bacteria in mouth.
7. Parsley, coriander, basil, rosemary, thyme, wintergreen, cardamom seeds, cinnamon bark, clove, fennel or anise seeds are great breath fresheners. Slowly chew any of these herbs and allow the saliva to build up in your mouth.
8. A study (Feb 2005) reported to the International Association for Dental research suggests that eating plain yogurt for 6 weeks can sweeten your breath because it reduces levels of offensive compounds produced by bacteria in the mouth by 80%.
9. Rinse your mouth before sleeping with a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon added.
10. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
11. Talk to your periodontist about gum and teeth problems that might be the cause of bad breath.
12. If you keep teeth, tongue, and mouth clean, you will not suffer from the problem of bad breath. You should take all care in cleaning your teeth by using proper tooth brush and adopting correct brushing technique. Follow the good oral hygiene rules. Please read all the information given in the related links given above.

The American Academy of Periodontology has identified following most ineffective home remedies for bad breath. These remedies can be only temporary fixes of the problem, they do not remove the root cause of the problem. You should not try these remedies.

1. Excessive use of alcohol based mouthwash.
2. Chewing gum and chewing tobacco.
3. Vodka martinis or sour mash whiskey: These will dry your mouth.
4. Brushing with household cleanser: They contain poisonous chemicals.
5. Rinsing with kerosene.
6. Tongue piercing: Increases chances of more bacteria on tongue.
7. Intestinal cleansing methods: It does not help as the bad breath does not originate from the stomach.