Natural Ways to Fight Bad Breath

You’re all suited, all ready for the big event, a date with someone special. But one thing at the end starts bothering you; your breath starts stinking badly. You may want to ignore it for yourself, but in reality, bad breath tells a lot about your oral hygiene and leaves a lasting impression on the other person. In this article, we’ll talk about what causes that stench and how you can remedy it at home.

Let’s get started!

What Causes Bad Breath?

Several reasons might be causing you to have bad breath. Our own negligence causes a lot of them; however, some of them aren’t in our control at all. Some of the reasons for bad breath are the following:

  • Tobacco: Smoking isn’t healthy in general. Bad breath is just one of the outcomes from smoking; it can inflict even more harm to your body, such as mouth and lung cancer. You might end up suffering from a gum-related disease in the near future because of smoking.
  • Food Items: There are some food items that we consume, which cause bad breath. Some of these items are onions, garlic, and other spices. Whenever you consume such food, a portion of it is also absorbed in your bloodstream and lungs, which causes a weird smell in your sweat and bad breath.
  • Poor Dental Hygiene: People who maintain their oral hygiene pretty well don’t have any bad odor emitting from their mouths. If you don’t take care of your teeth well, then a layer of plaque forms around the outermost layer. This also gives off the yellowish tint we see on teeth. However, it can cause a foul smell in your mouth.
  • Acidity and Digestive Issues: Not everything can be attributed to your mouth. Some of the times, the issue can be traced down to your gut as well. Sometimes, after indigestion or bloating, you can experience awful breath because of all the gases built up in your stomach. Chronic reflux of gastric juices can also cause bad breath.
  • Mouth Infections: Sometimes, certain mouth infections such as tooth decay, gum infection, etc. can cause bad breath.
  • Acidic Saliva: Naturally, our saliva remains alkaline to maintain proper oral health. Anything remotely acidic can cause our teeth to erode and ruin our breath. Some people have acidic saliva naturally, which can be pretty tough to manage. It is known to cause corrosion to your teeth and eventually dissolve them. Many people suffering from this have to opt for dentures for life.

Natural Ways to Fight Bad Breath:

The proper route would be first to diagnose what could be causing you bad breath. Is it your gut? Is it a mouth infection? Or are you not brushing your teeth at night? Once you’ve identified the cause, you can proceed further. The following are some of the proven methods to make sure that bad stench never comes back.

1. Brush Your Teeth at Night: You should get in the habit of brushing your teeth daily at night if you’re not already doing it. According to the majority of dentists, brushing at night is more beneficial than brushing in the morning. By brushing at night, you’re basically clean away the debris and food particles that are left between your teeth. If you don’t brush them away, they can get stuck and cause problems like bad breath and cavities.

Another reason for brushing at night is that our mouth activity is basically down to zero at nighttime, which makes it a hospitable environment for bacteria and germs to flourish.

close-up of a toothbrush

2. Make Flossing A Habit: Sometimes, our toothbrushes fail to reach the deepest spots. This is where flossing comes into action. Flossing can help you clean your teeth more effectively than a toothbrush. A toothbrush might be able to clean the outermost layer; however, the bristles of a toothbrush can’t reach the gaps between the teeth more precisely.

Flossing daily can prevent you from developing gum problems and remove any food particles that might be causing your bad breath.

a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss

3. Fix Your Digestion: A lot of times, the bad breath stems from digestive issues of an individual; in such cases, no matter how many remedies you try, they’re going to be temporary. Once you’ve figured out that your digestive system isn’t working properly as the way it is supposed to, then you can take steps to mitigate it.

You can boost your gut flora by introducing yogurt and fermented dishes like sauerkraut to your routine diet. Healthy gut flora makes sure that food is digested properly, and you don’t suffer from any gastric reflux.

a bowl containing yogurt, oats, and strawberries; three strawberries on a plate
4. Increase Your Water Intake: Human body is 70% water, and it has to be kept hydrated adequatelyfor it to function properly. If you’ve ever fasted without drinking water, then you might’ve noticed that the odor in our mouths gets very noticeable. It is because dehydration causes our salivary glands to dry out, which in turn causes our mouths to dry up as well. As a result, we end having terrible breath near the end of our fasts.

Regularly drinking water is the perfect way to fight bad breath; it will also replenish your body and keep you active.

pouring water from a bottle to a glass

5. Consume Parsley: Parsley can be an effective treatment for bad breath; however, the effects might not be permanent. Parsley basically acts as an alkaline agent and neutralizes any acidity that we might have in our mouths. As a result, our mouth feels more refreshed, and our breath doesn’t stink at all.

You can add parsley to your salads or chew it raw. It works both ways; however, it is recommended to chew parsley on an empty stomach for the best possible results.
Parsley

6. Get A Tongue Cleaner: Just like our teeth, our tongues also contribute significantly to our oral health. Unfortunately, our brushes aren’t designed to reach the back of our tongues effectively. You have to invest in a tongue cleaner or tongue scraper to get rid of the white or yellow coating that forms on your tongue.

a person holding their tongue out

7. Drink Pineapple Juice: If you’re looking for a temporary fix for your bad breath, then you must give pineapple juice a go. Pineapples have a strong scent that is able to mask off the bad odor from your mouth. It might not last for long, but as a temporary solution, it works wonders.

three pineapples

8. Baking Soda Mouthwash: The majority of mouthwashes you see in drug stores are just alkaline agents that work by neutralizing the acid found in your mouth. They work well, but there’s a cost to them; however, you can make an equally effective mouthwash at home. It might not make your mouth smell like a mint garden, but it won’t make it smell like rotten eggs either.

Add 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda in lukewarm water, swish it in your mouth for a minute or two and spit it out. Your mouth would feel bland, but it won’t have any odor left in it.
baking soda in a glass bowl; baking soda box

Conclusion:

Good dental hygiene must be practiced by everyone out there. There are a lot of quick fixes for bad breath in the market, but it is still better to try a home remedy before throwing your money at the flashy products. Keep in mind that not every case of bad breathing can be resolved;in some cases, you might need to visit a doctor to help identify the core issue behind it.