See These 5 Lifestyle Tips to Prevent Mouth Odour

Mouth odour is also known as bad breath, halitosis or feto oris. It is a common condition affecting about 1 out of every 4 persons in the world. It can be caused by a number of factors, including bad oral hygiene, dry mouth, the type of foods you eat and even some diseases in other parts of your body. However, the most common cause of bad breath in people is poor oral hygiene. Mouth odour can cause you a lot of worry, anxiety and low self esteem. But with these simple home remedies and lifestyle changes, it is relatively easy to address.

Lifestyle Tips to Prevent Mouth Odour

Brush

Brushing helps to prevent the accumulation of food particles in your mouth which can produce odour when bacteria breaks them down. If you do not brush regularly, bacteria can build up in your mouth to form a film, known as plaques. These plaques can lead to infection of your gum and teeth, leading to even more odour. Ensure to brush your teeth at least twice a day, preferably morning and night.

Floss

Brushing alone would not remove all the food particles in your mouth. It is also important to floss, particularly to reduce food particles and plaques in between your teeth. It is recommended that you floss daily, ensuring that your flossing technique effectively remove the plaques in between your teeth.

Drink Enough Water

Saliva naturally helps clean the mouth, thus preventing odour. Because of this, it becomes important for you to drink enough water so that your body can produce enough saliva to clean and hydrate your mouth. If your mouth is always dry even after drinking enough water, your doctor may need to prescribe medications for you to improve your body’s production of saliva. Yes, saliva is that important!

Watch What You Eat

The bacteria that form plaques and cause odour in your mouth love sugar. So avoid eating too much of sugary foods. You should also reduce or avoid foods like garlic and onions, as they can cause bad breath when digested. Avoid caffeine and alcohol too as these can cause your mouth to become dry and give way to bad breath.

Don’t Smoke

Smokers ordinarily tend to have a characteristic mouth odour, known as smokers breath, usually caused by stale cigarette smoke in their lungs and mouth. In addition to this, smoking also leaves certain chemicals in your mouth that cause mouth odour when mixed with saliva. Abstaining from smoking is therefore one good way to prevent bad breath.

A Word From HealthFacts to You

You may not always be able to prevent bacteria in your mouth from creating bad odour, especially since your digestive system needs some of these bacteria. However, it is up to you to guard against mouth odour by adopting lifestyle behaviours such as regular brushing and flossing, drinking enough water, avoiding foods like garlic and onions, and doing away with smoking.

Until next time, stay healthy!