Sunday, January 18, 2009

Tried And Test Bad Breath Fresheners

By Darren Wumoult

Have you leaned over to give your sweetie a kiss and they put their hand up between your lips and theirs? It wasn't because they did not want to kiss you. It was because they did not want to be near the odor escaping your mouth. Other than daily brushing and flossing, are there other ways to fight halitosis? How effective are natural remedies towards bad breath? Do they provide a solution or simply cover up halitosis?

Before tackling the natural treatment methods, let's first figure out where bad breath comes from. In any person's mouth, hundreds of different bacteria thrive. These feed on the microscopic food particles left in the mouth every time you eat. While breaking down the food particles, some of these bacteria produce a sulfur compound that have a very offensive smell similar to that of rotten eggs. This is what comes out of your mouth as bad breath or halitosis.

The use of a tongue scraper can be beneficial in removing some of the bacteria from the back of your tongue. Be gentle though and if you don't notice an improvement, don't scrape harder.

Another way to solve this problem is by using a mouth oxygenator. There are several variations of this product available all over the country. These products work because the bacteria in the mouth are anaerobic, meaning that they thrive in environments devoid of oxygen. By flushing oxygen into your mouth, a large percentage of these bacteria will die.

You may have tried a number of mouthwashes, but try and buy one which contains cetylpyridinium chloride and zinc chloride. Both these help in getting rid of bad breath. Hydrogen peroxide is another good remedy because it releases oxygen and does not allow the anaerobic bacterial to multiply, thus helping in getting rid of bad breath.

Another great product that you can buy almost anywhere is called a "water pik". The purpose of a water pik is to knock the food particles out from between the teeth, which is beneficial in fighting bad breath. You can purchase a water pik that will take batteries so that it is portable.

If home remedies are your thing, you can try using baking soda as an alternative treatment for halitosis. The bitter taste of this substance may turn off some people, but baking soda is really quite effective in eliminating smell of bad breath. Besides, many toothpaste brands now offer products that have baking soda as one of their ingredients.

When you eat healthy food, you can get rid of bad odors. You must chew all your food properly and if, instead of junk food like candy, chips and cookies, you have fresh vegetables and fruits which are high in fiber and acids, these, too, help in preventing plaque build up and consequently bad breath. Use mint to rinse the mouth or chew some basil or parsley to get rid of bad smells. To keep your gums healthy have a sufficient quantity of citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruit, lemon, lime, as also guavas and pomegranates because they contain large quantities of Vitamin C. If you massage your gums with a blend of salt, pepper, turmeric and sesame oil, it will also help in keeping your gums firm and healthy. An effective mouthwash or gargle can be made with from of wintergreen leaves.

An easy and effective home remedy is a using hydrogen peroxide mixed with water as a rinse for your mouth -- this kills the bacteria because it oxygenates your mouth. If you do not have access to peroxide at least use plain water which will help get rid of food debris. Otherwise the food debris will attract bacteria which cause bad breath.

Vegan diets are exempt of animal protein and animal fat. Vegetarians, especially vegans, have diets that are lower in saturated fat and trans fat, as well as cholesterol. In addition, vegan diets have higher fiber than non-vegetarian diets. Because of this, vegetarians are less likely to develop halitosis. Bad breath that is caused by oral bacteria is primarily produced by the odorous waste products these bacteria create as they digest proteins. This would imply that those people with a vegetarian diet and who have diets high in fruit and vegetable consumption will most likely have less of a problem with chronic bad breath than those who have diets high in protein rich foods such as meat. - 16955

About the Author:

No comments: