A good home treatment for bad breath is to properly clean the tongue and the inside of the cheeks whenever you brush your teeth because these sites accumulate bacteria that cause halitosis, other ways include combating dry mouth increasing salivation and improving digestion.
About 90% of the time bad breath is caused by poor hygiene of the tongue and therefore, by improving oral hygiene it is possible to resolve almost all cases of halitosis, but when it is not possible to eliminate bad breath completely, it may be time to seek medical help, especially if bad breath is too strong and negatively affects your personal life.
The 3 homemade ways to combat bad breath are:
1. Brushing teeth and tongue
The home treatment to end bad breath is good oral hygiene, which can be done following the following steps:
- Floss between teeth;
- Brush teeth very well from above, from below, rubbing each tooth to remove as much dirt. If you find that you have plaque you can add a little bit of baking soda in the toothpaste to brush your teeth in more depth, but only once a week not to remove the natural enamel from your teeth;
- Also brush the roof of the mouth, the inside of the cheeks and gums, but be careful not to get hurt;
- Use a tongue cleanser, flicking it across your tongue to remove the lingual flab that is a whitish layer that is caused by the build up of bacteria and food leftovers. This can be bought in pharmacies, drugstores and the internet, being very economical and efficient.
- To finish, you should always use a mouthwash every time you brush your teeth.
It is important to always use a good mouthwash every time you brush your teeth, the most suitable being those without alcohol, because the alcohol dries the mouth and promotes a smooth desquamation of the mucus, and ends up favoring the proliferation of bacteria. These can be purchased at drugstores, drugstores and supermarkets but a good homemade mouthwash is clove tea, as it has antiseptic properties that cleanse the mouth and purify the breath naturally.
If even following these tips the bad breath persists it is recommended to go to the dentist because the cavities, the broken, spoiled or badly positioned teeth favor the formation of the tartar that leads to inflammation of the gingiva, which can also be one of the causes of halitosis.
2. Keep your mouth moist with lemon
When even with the correct oral hygiene it is not possible to end bad breath this may indicate that it is being caused by other reasons, as it can happen when the mouth is always very dry. Keeping the mouth moist is a great way to stop halitosis, so it is recommended:
- Put a few drops of lemon directly on the tongue because the acidity of the lemon increases the salivation naturally;
- Sleep on your side to avoid sleeping with your mouth open;
- Eat every 3 or 4 hours so do not stay too long without eating anything;
- Take small sips of water several times a day. See strategies for drinking more water;
- Do not suck bullets or chewing gum but always have 1 clove of India in your mouth because it has antiseptic action and fights bacteria that cause bad breath;
- Eat 1 apple when eating outside and it is not possible to brush the following teeth.
These and other ways to eliminate bad breath are in this fun video by nutritionist Tatiana Zanin:
3. Improve digestion by eating fruits
Always eating easily digestible foods such as fruits and vegetables is a good way to keep your breath clean, but it is also important not to eat fried, greasy or over-industrialized foods because they favor halitosis by the smell of food, or production of gases in the body, which has a strong smell of sulfur, and in this case the person may have bad breath with the smell of feces.
A good strategy is to eat 1 fruit after each meal, apple and pear are excellent choices because they clean their teeth and have little sugar.
Persistent bad breath can also be a sign of gastrointestinal disease and other types of illness, including cancer. Therefore, when halitosis has no obvious cause, schedule a medical appointment to investigate why treating the disease will cause bad breath to disappear.
