Bad breath is embarrassing. Just a whiff of somebody else's bad breath can send a tingle down your spine. "What if I'm as oblivious as them..." you think to yourself.
"Do... do I have bad breath?"
Good question. Don't cup your hand over your mouth to test.
To give it a good check, grab a spoon and scrape the back of your tongue with it moving out of the mouth. Let it dry for a little bit, and then smell that sucker. Is it nasty? You might have the bad breath. If you don't have a spoon you can try licking the back of your hand but it won't be as great of a test.
You might make fun of the person you've always known who smells their dental floss. Time to join them. If you want to know whether you've got the bad breath, floss your back teeth and smell the floss between teeth. It's gross, but better you find out than your lover, right?
Why Do I Have Bad Breath!?
Well, you already know garlic and coffee can give you bad breath.
Obviously you need to brush and floss. If you only brush, I actually have heard that if you were to choose only one, Dentists would say floss, don't brush. It's that important. If you're not flossing this might already be your problem.
If that's not it, you may be eating some odor causing foods. Check to see if you are consuming too much of the following: alcohol, coffee, dairy products, meat heavy meals, orange juice, and soda.
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Several of those are on there because the sugar in them feeds the stanky bacteria and fuels the reactions that result in your bad breath.
Dairy can influence the flow and quality of your saliva, changing how quickly your mouth can clean itself of these strains of bacteria.
Meat gets stuck between molars and starts to stink (rot) in your mouth if you don't floss.
Seriously folks, floss.
Oh, and I'm not explaining to you why your breath stinks if you're a smoker. You know better.
Actually... you know what... I am. Smokers, whether you smoke cigarettes, marijuana, vape, or huff engine fumes: your throat will start pushing your spit back up into your mouth, interrupting the cleaning process. There are little things called cilia in your throat that hate bad air and will push everything out to save you from whatever toxin you're breathing.
There. It wasn't for you, cigarette smokers. You still already know better. It was for the vapers who were looking at you smugly.
How Can I Stop This Awful Stench?
Water
You need it to make saliva, and you need the saliva to keep your mouth rinsed naturally throughout the day. When your mouth dries out and you dehydrate bacteria can take over quickly.
If you are one of those people who "don't like" water, please find someone and ask them to slap your face. You are grown. Drink your water.
Mouthwash
Maybe you use it, but odds are you're using it wrong. It's a tool, not a solution, but rinsing with mouthwash can wash away and kill bacteria.
Problem is it also kills good bacteria, leaving sugar eating bacteria a blank slate. You can avoid leaving those stink producing bacteria free reign to grow by not eating or drinking anything with sugar for 30 minutes after, as well as avoiding smoking.
Tongue Scraping
It's never been a regular American habit, however brushing or scraping the back of your tongue is the best way to prevent bad breath consistently. The back of your tongue never really makes contact with food that can help clean it the way the front of your mouth does, but instead it gets contact with all the mashed up stuff you've chewed.
Since your tongue is incredibly absorbent (think spongy), all those particles get trapped in it and start growing bacteria. But you never floss your tongue. And you probably never brushed it.
You ought to. I don't want to expose you to a look at the human tongue up close if you don't want to see it, but rest assured there are thousands of little crevices that foodstuff gets stuck in.
Chewing Gum or Mints
Sugar free gum and mints can save you in a tight spot. If you've just had coffee or smoked, odds are your throat is trying to bring all of your spit back up into your mouth.
That can be counteracted by introducing something into the environment that encourages saliva. Namely chewing gum or mints!
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Apples
Other fruits and veggies can do this too, like pears or celery, but try for something with lots of moisture that has a good strong crunch to it. Chewing will help scrub bacteria from your tongue and teeth.
Now Go Kiss Somebody
By jove I think we've done it. We covered our bases! You should probably get Neuro gum and mints to keep on hand for your next emergency.
Read more! How Do You Fight Shyness?
Hi! We’re Team Neuro, aficionados of all things brain-related, from creativity to working out. With backgrounds in art, science, and athletics, we love delving into all the potentials of the human body.
We also created the world's first sugar-free nootropic caffeine gum that utilizes the effects of caffeine and L-theanine, made to help you optimize your mind — anywhere, anytime. Find out more here.
