Bad Breath

I know some bad breath remedies. Let’s start with a few common ones that are easy to use.

 

Brushing your teeth is one of the obvious bad breath remedies. When I say brushing, I don’t mean a quick onceover with a toothbrush, followed by a rinse. I mean your vigorous use of a toothbrush loaded with toothpaste. I mean brushing every tooth, front and back, from the gum line to the tip.

 

You also should brush your tongue. Most of your mouth’s bacteria live there. It is best if you brush after every meal. Yes, we all know few do.

 

Flossing is another of the bad breath remedies, but is not as common or frequent as brushing. Although almost everyone today uses a toothbrush, flossing is not as popular. Also, we don’t floss as often as we brush. Flossing once a day is about as often as we can expect.

 

One of the best bad breath remedies is brushing your tongue. You can use your toothbrush. For better results, use a tongue brush, tongue scraper or tongue cleaner. Most people don’t even think about using those. I must confess, I’ve never used anything other than my toothbrush. Nor do I plan to.

 

Another of the popular bad breath remedies is using a mouthwash. It is quick, easy and cheap. You can buy the stuff almost anywhere. There are three types. To fight bad breath you want one that is antibacterial. The other types are fluoride mouthwashes that improve your tooth enamel and re-mineralizing mouthwashes that fix lesions in your mouth.

 

Listerine, with its golden color, is the leading mouthwash. You probably can find a mouthwash in a flavor you like, especially if you like mint or peppermint. Mouthwashes also come in many colors, if that makes a difference.

 

Plain old water is the cheapest of the bad breath remedies. It is not as powerful as a mouthwash. However, water works well because moisture is the foe of the bacteria in your mouth. Wetness destroys their best breeding ground.

 

Many people combat bad breath by using flavored chewing gum with a mint, cinnamon or fruit taste. If you choose that bad breath treatment, I recommend gum with chlorophyll or Wrigley’s Eclipse gum with magnolia bark extract. Magnolia bark extract is one of the traditional Chinese bad breath remedies.

 

People also use breath mints and breath strips. Popular brands include Certs and Altoids. Like chewing gum, those products aren’t actually bad breath remedies. They do hide your bad breath for a short while.

 

Ranitidine is a histamine antagonist that fights the production of stomach acid. It is sold as Zantac and Zinetac. Those products are used as bad breath remedies by people with medical problems in their stomach and esophagus. Those problems often produce bad breath as a side effect.