Bad Breath

We have a tendency to approach our oral health from strictly the health perspective: We don’t want cavities, we want our teeth to last, and we don’t want secondary health problems from oral bacteria. What we’re thinking, however, comes often from a more superficial place and that’s okay. It’s okay for you to want your teeth to be stain free. It’s okay for you to want straight teeth. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look professional and attractive. There’s also nothing wrong with wanting to eliminate bad breath.

How do you know if you have bad breath? Hopefully your friends or your partner will tell you. Maybe you could ask them if you’re uncertain. Sometimes you can know for sure that you have it- like when you wake up in the morning. There’s a trick out there: check your floss. If your used floss smells or has blood on it, then you very likely have bad breath. If you don’t floss then you do have bad breath and you should start flossing.

Bad breath has a number of different sources but professionals tend to agree that about 80% of cases come from some type of oral problem. Maybe you’ve got some untreated decay or gum disease. Maybe there are food particles that need to be dislodged. (These particles can even become trapped in your tonsils) Do you brush your tongue? You should, every time you brush your teeth. That will help eliminate oral bacteria and therefore bad breath. What if you have an internal medical issue? Conditions like diabetes, liver disease, and acid reflux will contribute to bad breath. If your dentist can’t resolve your issue he may send you to your physician to get checked out.

Let’s say you’ve ruled out peripheral medical conditions. Are you visiting your dentist twice per year? Those tedious scraping sessions really do get a lot of bad stuff out of there. Let’s talk again about flossing. Are you really doing it every day? Sometimes there’s just something unpleasant stuck in there. How’s your brushing technique? Are you hitting the gum line at a 45-degree angle and using short, circular strokes? When you’re truly getting that bacteria out of there you’re really making your breath smell better. You could go for gold with an electric toothbrush. Those help you avoid neglect of certain areas, which leads to more bacteria.

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