Bad breath (medical name: halitosis) is an embarrassing problem for many people. There are various causes of bad breath, such as smoking, eating certain foods (garlic, onions, coffee) to poor oral hygiene or underlying health problems. We look at what you can do about the most common cause: poor oral hygiene.
Brushing
Brush your teeth at least twice a day, after breakfast and before bed. Preferably use a soft toothbrush. The purpose of brushing teeth is to remove food scraps and plaque, and that goes just as well with a soft toothbrush as with a hard one. Hard toothbrushes can also irritate and damage your gums, while you can massage your gums with a soft toothbrush. Choose a toothbrush with a not too large head. A toothbrush with a smaller head makes it easier for you to choose your rear. Choose the toothpaste of your 'taste': anti-tooth stone, for sensitive teeth, gum problems, et cetera. You don't have to use a lot of toothpaste. Brush your teeth for two minutes and your teeth for two minutes. Brush in a fixed order: first the outside of your teeth, then the inside and then the surfaces of your choosing. It is best to place the toothbrush at an angle on the gums and move it back and forth. Brushing from top to bottom also removes large food residues between your teeth.
Flossing and raging
For optimal oral hygiene, brushing alone is not enough. Brushing your teeth does not remove food residues and bacteria that nestle between your teeth. To remove them, you must use interdental brushes or brushes and floss. Ragers are a kind of toothpicks with brushes. These are available in different thicknesses. This allows you to brush well between the larger spaces between your teeth, better than you can with floss. With flos you can reach the places where even with the thinnest interdental brush you cannot get in. There are also water flossers, a type of mouth shower, available that you can use with tap water or special mouthwash. With this you literally spray dirt and bacteria between your teeth. The disadvantage of this is that they do not stimulate the gums,
Rinsing
Antibacterial mouthwash is the finishing touch to your daily tooth brushing routine. Mouthwash comes to the places where you don't even come with floss It is important to flush vigorously for thirty seconds, from front to back and left to right, to ensure that the mouthwash is everywhere. There are also special mouthwashes with chlorhexidine. A highly concentrated mouthwash is not intended for daily use.
Scraping
You thought you were there? Well, not quite yet, because if you still have bad breath after all that brushing, brushing, flossing, and rinsing, your tongue may be the cause. Your tongue is like a dusty carpet and a breeding ground for bacteria. For total oral hygiene, it is best to scrape your tongue daily. Use a tongue scraper or 'just' a spoon and scrape the dirt off your tongue from back to front. If you do this for the first time or have not done it for a long time, you will be surprised how much junk is left on the scraper - an unpleasant sight and reason for scraping to make a daily ritual. Do show the backside of your tongue, or scrape your entire tongue, up to your tonsils and fight your fallow reflex.
Visit a dental hygienist
Between your six-month dental visit, it is advisable to visit your dental hygienist or prevention assistant for interdental cleaning. She (we have never met a dental hygienist) can thoroughly clean your teeth than you can at home.
Keep your mouth moist
Do you know why you have bad breath in the morning? That's because you produce less saliva at night, the natural enemy of bacteria in your mouth and bad breath. Drinking water keeps your mouth moist and by rinsing you also wash away food residues and bacteria between your teeth. Chewing chewing gum used to be considered bad for your teeth because of the sugar; now it is an important weapon in the fight against bacteria in your mouth. Chewing on chewing gum stimulates saliva production. Choose a chewing gum that is sweetened with xylitol, not with sugar, otherwise you will create holes.