Ok, so what exactly causes bad breath and what can you do about it, if you're a sufferer?



Some of the causes of bad breath are pretty obvious. If you are going to eat strong-smelling foods such as onions and garlic then it's a given that for some time afterwards your breath isn't exactly going to be fresh. It's a relief to learn that foods of the above type only cause bad breath for a short period and then they cease to have that effect.

But, of course, there are other bad breath causes that can be more long-lasting. Food particles trapped in your mouth is one of these. Anaerobic bacteria just love these food particles and thrive on them and these bacteria cause bad breath.

Another contributory factor to breath that smells is a dry mouth. Saliva is your mouths natural mouthwash. If you aren't producing much saliva - because you've been drinking alcohol or you're nervous, for example - this can lead to the kind of bad breath produced by a dry mouth.

Poor oral hygiene and health is a fairly obvious cause of bad breath along with smoking and the use of other tobacco products.

On a more serious note, bad breath can indicate an underlying medical condition such as lung, stomach or blood problems or even diabetes.

If you know that you have a problem with bad breath, how can you combat it?

The best initial thing you can do is to take extra care of basic oral hygiene on a daily basis. Brushing the tongue as well as the teeth is something you should definitely get into the habit of doing. It's a very good idea to invest in a specialist device called a tongue scraper. What this will do is help to remove food particles and dead skin cells from the tongue surface, the kind of things that an ordinary toothbrush won't successfully remove.

You should make sure that you book regular check-ups with your dentist so that any necessary treatment can be arranged as quickly as possible so that oral health problems don't get chance to develop into something major.

If you can't brush your teeth after every meal then at least swill your mouth round with water to dislodge stray food particles that might otherwise become trapped between your teeth.

You should get into the habit of chewing sugarfree gum or sugerfree lozenges to encourage the production of saliva.

Use a mouthwash twice a day, morning and evening, but avoid those all too prevalent ones that contain alcohol.

You should stop smoking and refrain from drinks that contain alcohol or caffeine.

Eat more leafy green vegetables. These vegetables contain chlorophyll which is nature's own breath freshener.

All of the above tips, if practised, will help you to alleviate your bad breath symptoms.