Treating Bad Breath or Halitosis With Lifestyle and Diet Changes

Bad breath or halitosis is a condition that almost everyone suffers from now and then. Luckily for most people its only for a short time. Many times it only lasts until they brush their teeth, use mouthwash, chew some gum or eat a breath mint. For others it’s an ongoing problem they just can't seem to cure. The information here will help many of those people find a permanent cure for their halitosis using mostly lifestyle and diet changes along with natural treatments.

There are two main types of bad breath.

The first is called transient bad breath or halitosis and is a temporary condition caused by the food you eat (garlic or onions for example, smoking, dry mouth or not practicing good oral hygiene. Stephen Z. Wolner, a dentist in private practice in New York City says that a clean tongue will go a long ways towards warding off bad breath. Usually transient bad breath can be cured fairly quickly by brushing your teeth, chewing gum, using a mouth wash, eating parsley, gargling with salt water and a number of other methods.

The second type is chronic halitosis or bad breath which is worse than transient bad breath and has been estimated to affect up to 25% of the population. This serious condition is primarily caused by excess oral bacteria with the main cause of chronic halitosis being the streptococcus mutans bacteria. Another cause of chronic bad breath could be cavities in your teeth or even periodontis, says Wolner.

Although most bad breath is caused by bacteria in the mouth sometimes its caused by some type of disease in your body and even some of the medicines you taking will also cause bad breath. Luckily most bad breath problems can be cured by changing your lifestyle or diet.

Some common causes of bad breath are: foods such as garlic, onions or meat, too much coffee or alcohol, smoking, some medicines, not drinking enough water, bad teeth, too much protein or fat in your diet, bacteria on back of your tongue, braces or dentures, etc.

Tips to cure your bad breath or halitosis

1. Stop drinking alcohol or cut back on it, as it dries out the mouth. Drink water with your alcohol drinks.

2. Quit smoking or using tobacco products or at least cut down your usage.

3. Drink plenty of water to hydrate your mouth as well as the body.

4. Think about switching to tea from coffee. There are a number of reasons to drink green tea and sweet breath seems to be one of them.

5. Do more exercising and calorie cutting to lose weight instead of using high protein/low carbs diets.

6. Cut back on the sugar as bacteria feeds on it and ti also to lessen chances of tooth decay.

7. Brush your teeth at least twice a day along with flossing.

8. Chew sugarless gum (especially the cinnamon flavor) to stimulate saliva.

9. Clean your tongue and inside of mouth with a soft toothbrush dipped in mouth wash.

10. Eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat.

11. Eat a guava. One that's still green is usually recommended but a ripe one is also beneficial.

12. Brush your teeth and tongue with baking soda.

13. Use a water pick to clean your teeth.

14. Use hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash. Be careful not to swallow any.

15. Drink fruit or vegetable juices especially tomato and pineapple juices.

16. Chew parsley after meals especially when you go out to eat as some is usually used for garnish

17. Gargle with salt water.

18. If you can't brush your teeth after a meal at least swish some water around in your mouth.

19. Your low carb diet may also be a factor in your bad breath. A slice of bread may help.

20. Chew cloves, cinnamon or similar spices. Boiling them will also make a good mouthwash.

These 20 tips are just the ones that I know about and have used, from people I've talked to and what I've read about. Ask others what they use and you'll undoubtedly come up with a lot more of them.

If you try all the above suggestions and you still have bad breath or halitosis you might want to see your dentist or family doctor to see if something more serious is causing your problem. Before you go to the doctor you might want to get a second opinion because "A large proportion of people who think they're social pariahs with terrible breath don't have bad breath at all," says Wolner.