Want to ruin a first impression?
-have bad breath
Want to ruin a second impression?
–have bad breath
What to ruin a millionth impression?
-HAVE BAD BREATH!
Having bad breath is something nobody wants, but let’s face it, it happens. Now… we all know the basics of maintaining fresh breath and proper oral hygiene:
-Brush your teeth at least twice a day
-Don’t eat things that typically smell, such as onions and garlic
-Brush your tongue
But I have 3 tips that will take your oral hygiene game to the next level!
3 Oral Hygiene Tips for Fresh Breath that You HAVEN’T Heard:
1. Floss your teeth before you brush your teeth.
We have all been told how important it is to floss between your teeth for oral and gum health. But I don’t think enough of an emphasis is put on how flossing your teeth helps to keep your breath fresh. Lots of people choose to brush and then floss whatever was left behind by the toothbrush. I have found that flossing before I brush really helps to dislodge any food that is stuck at the gum line or between your teeth. Once you have done that, then you go in and brush your teeth and gums really well so that the bubbles from the toothpaste, and toothbrush bristles will sweep away any odor causing food and bacteria.
*bonus*
If you really want to ramp up your oral hygiene; after putting toothpaste on your toothbrush, dip your toothbrush into baking soda. The lightly abrasive baking soda helps to polish your teeth and further dislodge any tartar or plaque build-up. The baking soda kill bacteria (source) helping to reduce odor (source).
2.Avoid Dairy and Consumption
We are all well aware that foods such as onions, garlic, etc. will cause bad breath. However, no one ever mentions how dairy and sugar an wreak (pun intended) havoc. For dairy, as the microorganisms are working to break down the proteins, lactose, and lipids in the milk product that you’ve just ingested, they can sometimes excrete excess hydrogen sulfide (source).
FYI: Hydrogen sulfide is an flammable, colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs… NOT what we want.
Similarly to diary, sugar can also cause bad breath. There are a few reasons to not eat sugar (weight gain, acne, oral/dental health), but bad breath is also one of them. When we consume sugar, the microbes in our mouth feed on these sugars and can cause bad breath (source). So it is best to avoid anything with sugar before going to any events were you will be doing any speaking (ie. certain mints and chewing gum)… or better yet, all together.
3.Scrape Your Tongue
I’ve heard lots of people suggest to brush your tongue to remove bad-breath-causing food particles. However, I charge you to step your oral hygiene game up and invest in a tongue scraper. A tongue scraper is going to really get any odor-causing gunk off of your tongue. You can use use either a plastic scraper or a metal scraper to get a cleaner, fresher tongue, and subsequently cleaner, fresher breath.
While I have never tried this method, I’ve read that in lieu of a tongue scraper, a spoon works just as well. And while I personally haven’t given it a shot, I can see how this would still work.
*bonus-bonus tip*
want seriously fresh breath? brush your teeth and tongue with baking soda and then scrape your tongue. Again, the slightly abrasiveness of the baking soda helps to remove food and bacteria from the tongue, and the tongue scraper really comes through and gets anything that may have been left behind.
Conclusion
Bad breath is something that can affect anyone, at anytime. With these 3 tips, you are guaranteed to have fresh breath.
What does your oral hygiene routine consist of?
