by Ronnee Ruselle

Bad breath is embarrassing but luckily for most people with bad breath, simple good dental hygiene can help you deal with it. For others, it may suggest something more serious going on. Here are some causes and suggestions for how to deal with bad breath.

Brushing
Ideally we should brush our teeth after every meal, although this is not always easy to do during a busy day so at least twice a day is necessary to remove food particles from your mouth. If you keep a toothbrush and a small tube of past in your bag or desk you can remove bad breath in unexpected situations or before meeting clients.

Brush your tongue
Often halitosis sufferers show a yellow or white film on the tongue. This is caused by a build-up of bacteria and nasal mucous. It often is heavier at the back of the tongue. For those who have this as an ongoing problem, seeing your doctor may help to reduce it. Otherwise, for everyone else, brush your tongue when you clean your teeth to help remove any bad breath and buildup of bacteria.

Floss
Care of gums is as important as teeth when it comes to bad breath. Food caught between your teeth and gums will not all be removed with a brush so you need to make sure you floss daily. Brush the gums above the teeth too as the build-up will also sit on the gum becoming another cause of bad breath.

Mouthwash
Add mouthwash to your daily dental routine. It will kill off halitosis causing bacteria and also help to prevent more during the day, plus it gives your breath a fresh minty smell.

Spices
Your kitchen may have some ingredients to disguise bad breath and make your breath sweeter. Chewing parsley, fennel, anise seeds or even cloves can help to remove odours after a spicy meal.

Avoid classic stinkers
Drinks such as coffee, wine, whiskey and beer leave a deposit on the plaque in your mouth and getting into your digestive system and this comes out as bad breath each time you breathe so avoiding them is a good idea. Foods and habits that create bad breath such as onions, garlic, pizza, spicy foods and smoking for 24 hours before your special event will help.

Dry Breath
Drink plenty of water and avoid breathing with your mouth open to help stop Dry Breath which is one of the major causes for halitosis. It also helps keep bacteria in your mouth down.

See a Professional
If you have taken care of your dental hygiene and you still have bad breath after 24 hours, you may need to look a little deeper. A visit to your dentist will help you find out if it is caused by gum disease, cavities or decay. A visit to your doctor can help you rule out more serious causes such as dehydration, zinc deficiency, sinus infection, bronchitis, liver or kidney failure or even cancer.

Change your diet
If you are on a low carb or high protein diet, your body will be burning fats that may cause a chemical to be released in your breath. The only way to combat this is to introduce some carbs into your diet so if you have an important event coming up, consider having adding a small amount of carbs leading up to the event in addition to the usual tricks such as using breath mints to help combat bad breath.