Common Misconceptions About Halitosis

It is thought that the bacteria that cause bad breath is bad and doesn't belong in our mouth. The truth is that the bacteria of the tongue and throat naturally occur on these surfaces. They are supposed to be in our mouth to help in the digestive process.

Bad breath is not contagious. You cannot "catch" it from someone else, even by kissing someone with bad breath. You cannot transfer bacteria. We all have these bacteria in our mouth. Brushing, rinsing and scraping our tongue cannot remove all of the bacteria.

What is a normal condition can be made worse by prescription medications (for high blood pressure), and over the counter antihistamines that can cause dry mouth. Mouthwashes can also dry out our mouth because they can contain alcohol. Drinking alcoholic beverages can dehydrate us, which can dry out our mouth. When our mouth becomes dry, there is less saliva. The Saliva contains oxygen, which keeps our mouth healthy and fresh smelling. Less saliva means less oxygen, therefore a more odorous smelling mouth.

Post-nasal drip combines with the drying effect of the antihistamines we take to relieve the symptoms and we actually make our symptoms worse by drying out the mouth. This post-nasal drip ends up draining down the back of our throat coating our throat and tongue. Bacteria love the mucus that contains strands of protein and they go to work breaking down the protein into sour tasting sulfur type compounds. Nasal-sinus drops do help with this problem.

Certain foods that we eat are packed with protein that bacteria love to breakdown. Foods including milk, cheese, fish, and certain individuals have difficulties breaking them down like those who are lactose intolerant.

Coffee contains caffeine and high levels of acids both cause the bacteria to reproduce more rapidly and to create a bitter taste in your mouth. Most people assume that liquids of any kind rinse bacteria from the mouth and throat. The liquid that does do that is plain water. What it really rinses is food particles. Food particles that are allowed to remain in the mouth can then have bacteria attack it, which causes bad breath.

Most people will take their toothbrush and swish it around their mouth and think that because there is lather that it is ridding the mouth and teeth of food and bacteria. The truth is that you need to brush for at least 20 seconds with a brushing action in order to have a chance to remove food particles. You really need to floss to remove the food particles between the teeth. Brushing alone will not remove the food particles lodged between the teeth.

Brushing your teeth, flossing and scraping your tongue is not enough to avoid bad breath. The bacteria that cause bad breath can be on the tongue, the back of the throat and in the mouth (teeth, gum). When you add a good mouth spray to your dental hygiene routine of brushing, flossing, and scraping, you can effectively reach the bacteria on the tongue and at the back of the throat.