Have you ever been told you have got bad breath or had any annoying experience from others? – Bad breath is a distress.
Bad breath is a common disorder that many of us experience within ourselves or from others. Poor oral hygiene is not just the root cause of bad breath but poor digestions also matters.
The sulfur producing bacteria are the main cause that sits on your tongue, gums and throat. This sulfurous bacterium is formed from the undigested food stuck in the digestive gut forming a thick coating in the track lining reaching all the way to throat and mouth. Thus the bacteria when breaks down the food and protein tend to release a sulfurous odor causing bad smell or breath.
If you are constipated very often or have indigestion issues with your gut, then this can directly influence on your breath.
Bad breath causes
- Dry mouth: Excessive breathing through mouth or alcohol consumption
- Gum problems
- Tooth decay: Decayed/decaying tooth also contributes in producing foul smell.
- Respiratory issues
- Mucus formation due to cold, sinusitis
- Poor digestion
- Poor oral hygiene
- Certain foods: foods like onions, garlic, eggs, animal protein products contain excess sulfur contributing to bad breath issues
I would like to share with you few home remedies to prevent bad breath with basic maintenance and extra care for the tongue, teeth and mouth.
Tongue
- Have you ever noticed a white coating on your tongue? This is where the bacteria is produced multiplies. The first lines of dense – to scrape off that thick coating of plaque on your tongue – invest in a good tongue cleaner.
- You can even use toothbrush to scrub the outer coating of the tongue which promotes odor causing plague and bacteria.
- Use middle and index fingers to rub your tongue in the mornings after brushing to thoroughly clean the mouth and throat.
Teeth
- Brushing your teeth twice helps curb the issue.
- Flossing helps take out that bacteria or rotten food particles stuck beneath the hard to reach spaces of the teeth.
- Use Neem / Mango twigs to brush your teeth the natural way and treat the bad breath from the roots. Chew the end of the twig and try brushing with it inside the teeth walls and you can see and feel the difference. Every 15 days works wonders.
- Eat fiber rich fruits like apples, carrots, banana, guava and others
- Soak your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide to clean the brush off stinking bacteria.
- Activated Charcoal helps absorb bad bacteria regularly brushing your teeth with powdered activated charcoal gives instant freshness.
- Mix a teaspoon of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon yogurt and brush your teeth with this lemon + yogurt mix for 5 minutes and rinse.
- Visit dental professional for regular check-ups for cavities or cleaning sessions.
Gargling
- Medicated water with herbs cleanses the accumulated bacteria in mouth and throat.
- Gargling with salt in warm water for 5 minutes
- Triphala churn is another versatile ayurvedic remedy that helps relieve you from the bad breath problem despite making your gums stronger and teeth whiter.
- Mix Apple cider vinegar about 1 tablespoon in a glass of water and gargle for about 5 minutes. the antibacterial nature of apple cider vinegar sways the smell causing bacteria off your mouth.
- Gargle with 2-3 drops eucalyptus oil in a cup of plain water for 2 minutes and smell great.
- Mix a tablespoon cinnamon powder + 1 tablespoon honey + 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a cup of hot water. Shake well and store this mix in an air tight container and use it as a rinse or mouthwash.
- Mix half spoon baking soda to a glass of water and rinse your mouth to neutralize acidic levels and keep the PH levels in balance.
Oil pulling – The revolutionary mouthwash
Oil pulling- an ayurvedic approach to all your oral issues and top best remedy for bad breath. All you need to have is sesame / coconut oil to gargle your mouth for about 15 minutes every morning before brushing. The science behind oil pulling is the lipophilic nature of oils that tend to attract other oils and pull out toxins off your teeth, gums, and mouth. It may be difficult to do it in the start to keep oil upright in the mouth but will get used to it if you have that strong desire to put an end to that annoying bad breath.
- Drink one cup of warm water on empty stomach
- Warm up 3 tablespoons of sesame oil /coconut oil to just above room temperature
- Swish for 15 minutes
This is a powerful MOUTH detoxifying treatment. Brighten your smile!! Laugh out loud!!
Overall mouth freshness guide
- Indian cuisine spices are healing – have everything to treat almost any medical conditions without any side effects.
- Your mouth should have enough saliva glands working to treat dryness causing bad breath. Drinking sips of water throughout the day keeps your system hydrated and flush out the accumulated bacteria and toxins off your mouth. Excessive mucus production can also result in bad breath.
- Rinsing the mouth thoroughly and gargling helps remove clogged food particles.
- The most traditional and efficient way to treat oral bad breath is by having super fibrous fruits and veggies where the little fibers act as a natural scrub to flush out toxins of your teeth besides supporting digestion and helping your gut stay healthy.
- Put a clove in to your mouth and chew its juice slowly for a while, when being social. Cloves strong flavor works as a natural mouth freshener keeping your bad breath at bay.
- Fennel seeds – every Indian restaurant has this tradition of giving sweet coated fennel seeds at the end of the meals which helps the food to get easily digested and keeps your mouth fresh.
- Super water made of coriander / cumin seeds helps relieve from both oral bad breath and digestion issues. To the 1 litre boiling water add a handful of cardamom and cumin seeds and boil for 15 minutes and strain. Use this water throughout the day in sips.
- Cardamom seeds are one of the strong and sweet flavored spices used as a mouth freshener for that smooth sweet flavor.
- Lemon juice made of sugar and pinch of black salt also helps give you a fresh breath.
- Make a habit of taking buttermilk after meals to kill bad smell causing bacteria
Instant fixes for bad breath
- Chew a gum now and then to mask bad breath and help produce more saliva production and washing away of toxins.
- Chew on a small chunk of ginger and salt after meals to take out strong odors out your mouth
- Green tea is omnipresent to rescue us from variety of medical issues. Having a cup of green tea leaves your mouth odor free and healthy.
- Mouthwashes available out in the markets are mostly alcohol based are not recommended. Use non-alcoholic mouthwashes
Neem twigs, oil pulling and gargling, eating fresh fruits are my personal favorites!! Smell fresh!!!
