Floss: Like brushing, flossing once daily is equally essential to flush out food particles and plaque trapped between the teeth, where bacteria thrive. A dental floss, water flosser, or even an interdental toothbrush does the job for you.
Mouthwash: An alcohol-free antimicrobial mouthwash can be handy. It eliminates harmful bacteria responsible for bad breath and numerous other oral problems. Mouthwashes often contain natural ingredients such as mint, clove, or cardamom that instantly freshen the breath.
Tongue Scrapers: Often overlooked, tongue cleaning plays a vital role in keeping your breath clean. An unclean tongue collects food debris and bacteria, leading to bad breath. Using a tongue scraper or brushing your tongue gently with a soft toothbrush is ideal.
Dietary Choices
Revamping dietary preferences can help keep the mouth fresh. A foul odour often lingers in the mouth after consuming highly-flavoured foods, like strong-tasting cheese or essential oils in onions and garlic. Some of them cannot be excluded entirely due to their health benefits. Limiting their consumption and rinsing the mouth thoroughly with water after a meal is ideal.
Overusing drinks, such as alcohol and coffee, along with poor oral hygiene, leads to oral malodor. Studies note that alcohols like wine, beer, and whisky are well known for causing a lingering bad smell in the mouth. Restricting their consumption, rinsing with water after intake, and adopting good oral hygiene and healthier alternatives help reduce bad breath.
Hydration
Dehydration and a lack of saliva can cause dry mouth and oral malodor. Saliva in the mouth washes away food debris and neutralises the acids that are released by bacteria. Thus, the constant flow of saliva helps avoid bad breath. Moisturizing and hydrating the mouth is vital for adequate saliva production.
Avoiding drinks that promote dry mouth, such as coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol, and drinking plenty of water keeps the mouth moist. Chewing fennel seeds, parsley, or sugar-free gum or sucking on sugar-free candies helps stimulate saliva production. They may also leave pleasant fragrances to cover the foul odour in the mouth.
Additional Tips
Besides empowering your dental hygiene practice, watching your diet and staying hydrated, you may adopt many more measures to eliminate bad breath. They include:
Mouth Freshener Sprays: Many prefer them for their instant effect and ease of use. With zero calories or sugar, they feature ayurvedic ingredients and flavours such as cool mint, paan, and saunf. Though they cannot replace oral hygiene habits, their natural contents, such as clove, mint, elaichi (cardamom), and peppermint, readily freshen breath.
Natural breath fresheners: Some kitchen herbs are natural and the best mouth fresheners and ingredients in various oral care essentials. Often stored in a dry place in a typical Indian household, these include clove, cardamom, fennel seeds, and star anise. Chewing them eliminates foul breath and stimulates saliva production.
Keep the dental appliances clean: Unclean dentures or retainers can contribute to foul breath. Along with oral care, cleaning the wearables is also necessary. Removing dentures at night, brushing them using a dental cleanser, and cleaning the retainers before putting them back on is ideal.
Regular dental check-ups: Routine dental check-ups and cleanings safeguard you from potential dental problems, including foul breath. With the help of a dentist, you can also rule out other possible causes of bad breath, such as health conditions or side effects of any medicines.
Avoid smoking and tobacco use: The hazardous effects of smoking and tobacco use on health are known. Besides, they cause various dental problems, including gum diseases, stains, and bad breath. Quitting the use of cigarettes and tobacco is a vital step in combatting bad breath.
Keeping the mouth fresh throughout the day requires a multifaceted approach to fighting bad breath. This includes consistent oral hygiene, a mindful diet, and adequate hydration. Various oral hygiene essentials and oral care tips can help you achieve long-lasting freshness and improve oral health.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why doesn't my breath stay fresh all day?
The constant action of bacteria challenges keeping the mouth fresh all day. Oral bacteria feed on food debris, releasing odour-causing compounds. Though saliva washes these away, dehydration can cause a dry mouth, leading to bad breath.
2. What kills bad breath quickly?
Rinsing with an alcohol-free mouthwash offers instant freshness. Chewing sugar-free gums, mint mouth freshner, and mouthwash containing anise and fennel seeds stimulate saliva flow, naturally washing away the odour-causing bacteria. Some people prefer using proprietary mouth freshener sprays with herbal formulations, which is trending in India.
3. How to avoid bad smells in your mouth?
Consistent dental hygiene is the most effective solution. It includes regular brushing and flossing, tongue cleaning, and dental check-ups. Staying hydrated and limiting odorous foods and alcohol help curb bacterial action. Changing lifestyle habits, like smoking, helps keep the mouth fresh.
4. How do you have fresh breath all day?
Achieving all-day freshness requires diligent oral care. This includes a combo of regular brushing, flossing, tongue cleaning, and routine check-ups. Staying hydrated keeps saliva flowing to wash away food particles and odour-causing bacteria. A mindful diet and lifestyle choices help keep the mouth fresh all day.
