How to Get Rid of Bad Breath

Bad breath isn’t pleasant — neither to smell it nor to have it. Having bad breath can make you feel self-conscious, yet, despite your best efforts, it can be hard to get rid of;

To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of pointers to follow that can help you get rid of bad breath.

1. Brush and Floss Regularly

First and foremost, keeping your dental hygiene basics on point can help minimize bad breath. Besides leaving your breath smelling fresh after a meal, brushing and flossing removes stuck food particles and cleans out plaque. Plaque, after all, greatly contributes to bad breath.

Of course, the minty or cinnamon flavors of many toothpaste brands give your breath a fresh, pleasant smell as well.

Make sure you brush at least twice a day and floss at least once. Be thorough with the flossing to ensure you get as much as possible out of those hard-to-reach areas.

Now, you should also make sure to brush and/or scrape your tongue. This area is often overlooked, yet plenty of bacteria can gather here. Gently brush your tongue with your brush and some toothpaste. Consider a scraper as well if your brush is too large to reach the back of your tongue.

2. Use Mouthwash

Mouthwash isn’t as necessary as brushing and flossing, but many would do well to add it to their routine. Selecting a product that is antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiseptic is best as it covers all your bases. It’ll kill bad-breath-causing bacteria and even help loosen/wash out food particles.

3. Minimize Specific Foods

There’s no doubt that several foods can leave your breath smelling less than pleasant. Some notorious offenders include garlic, onions, some dairy, and tuna (although this isn’t an exhaustive list).

Now, it’s not always enough to brush after eating these foods. Some of the particles can get into your bloodstream and reach your lungs, where you breathe them back out. Thus, it’s best to avoid these foods before any event where you need your breath to smell nice.

4. Quit Smoking

Smoking leads to a variety of ill health effects all over your body, not just in your mouth, but it also causes bad breath in three ways.

The first is that the smoke itself lingers on your breath. Beyond that, smoking dries your mouth out, leading to halitosis.

Lastly, smoking can cause gum disease, further contributing to bad breath.

5. Visit Your Dentist Regularly

Despite your best efforts to keep your breath smelling minty fresh, you’re bound to miss a small spot here or there. It’s often hard to keep things 100% clean when you can’t look into your mouth from the outside.

That’s why you should visit a dentist like Absolute Smile at least once every six months. We’ll help you fix up any areas you may have missed, catch any early warning signs of bigger problems, and provide you advice on improving your oral health.