Suffering from bad breath can be very embarrassing, especially as it is often very hard if not impossible to tell if it is affecting you. We’ve all tried the cupping of hands move, or even the licking the arm and smelling it. These don’t really work and often make you look quite foolish. If you know you are susceptible to bad breath this can often affect your confidence when going into certain situations and can cause you to be distracted and undermine your self-esteem.
There are many supposed cures for bad breath such as mouth wash, oral sprays and certain diets but the reality is that these do little more than mask the smell temporarily and in some cases could even make the problem worse. According to dentists, most cases of bad breath originate in the mouth (around ten per cent are concerned with digestion problems) and have to be treated as an oral problem with traditional oral hygiene methods.
The majority of cases of bad breath are caused by either poor standards of oral hygiene. This causes a build up of bacteria and food debris in the mouth, which begins to smell, or as the result of gum disease which also releases a distinct but unpleasant odour.
The best way to treat bad breath and ensure it stays away is to improve how you clean your teeth. Brushing should be carried out effectively for three minutes twice a day and should be followed by flossing. This is very important for keeping bad breath away as it removes trapped food debris form the hard to reach areas of the mouth, such as between the teeth and around the base on the teeth near the gums. Using a tongue scraper to clean the tongue once a week will also remove potential smells form the surface of the tongue. Your Central Leeds dentist will show you how to effectively clean teeth and keep bad breath away at a routine check up appointment.
Tags: bad breath, oral hygiene, oral sprays, tongue scraper
