How many times have you been about to meet someone and thought, “Oh no, do I have bad breath?” I’m sure that has happened to each of us at one time or another. If someone is with us during our realization, they usually became the “breath smeller’ and if the news is negative we desperately search for a mint or mouth spray to improve the situation. If none is found, then the night is spent covering our mouths as we try and interact with others. So, I guess the question now is how can we prevent this from happening in the first place?

Everyone has had bad breath at one time. Whether it is the dreaded “morning breath” or the “onions with garlic on the side” breathe- we have all been there. Most of the time bad breath can be temporarily covered up with mints or mouth spray but the key word there is temporarily. While in the case of “morning breath” which can easily be fixed with a good teeth brushing or the “onion breath” which usually passes on its own, chronic bad breath likes to hang on. Breath mints, mouth wash and spray are no match. The culprit just keeps coming back.

What Causes Bad Breath?

Bad breath can be caused by two main things. One is during the digestion of our food. While our body is busy digesting, gases are released. Certain foods release smellier gases during digestion like onions, garlic and meats. These gases rise up and out of our mouths.

Then we have bacteria which is the cause of most chronic bad breath. The bacteria can live anywhere in the mouth. The tongue and between the teeth are good, common hiding spots. I am sure you have noticed that “not so fresh breath” on those mornings that you ran out the door before brushing.

Simple Bad Breath Remedies

Simplest bad breath remedy is brushing your pearly whites. The more you brush, the less time bacteria will have to multiply. It’s not only your teeth that need a good scrubbing, your tongue does, too. By brushing your tongue you are removing a slimy layer that bacteria love to live and breed in. Another important thing to remember is your tooth brush. Bacteria from your mouth attaches to your brush so wash it well between brushing and replace often.

Flossing is very important also. Bacteria lives between the teeth where it’s warm, moist and hard to reach. Flossing with tea tree oil is great because it not only gets the corn kernel from dinner but kills the bacteria as well.

Mouth rinses with tea tree oil are another natural way of killing the bacteria. A little baking soda in water will also help to neutralize the bad breathe odor. Ginger is another good way of ridding your mouth of bad breath.

By drinking a couple of cups of tea per day you’ll be killing bacteria in your mouth and stomach at the same time as enjoying a pleasant drink.

Last but by far the simplest is water. Mouths that are dry tend to have more odor, so drink lots of water to help keep things wet and flushed out.  Did you know about tonsils causing bad breath?