Bad Breath
Bad Breath
Help for Stubborn Halitosis
Even women who aren't normally concerned about their breath worry when they reach for a wedge of garlic bread, a dollop of onion dip or a helping of their favorite curry.
Contrary to what you might think, popping a breath mint or swishing mouthwash may not always be the best answer. Used too often--several times a day--mints and rinses mask the problem and don't get to the cause, says Mahvash Navazesh, D.M.D., associate professor and vice-chair in the Department of Dental Medicine and Public Health at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry in Los Angeles.
Just as you would hunt for the source of an odor in your kitchen, your best bet is to figure out what's causing your bad breath, Dr. Navazesh advises. Smoking and drinking alcohol are common--but obvious--causes.
Researchers have always suspected that the true culprit behind ordinary bad breath may live on your tongue. This hypothesis gained support in a study by Erika H. DeBoever, D.D.S., conducted at the Department of Biologic Materials Sciences at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. DeBoever studied 16 men and women with bad breath, most of whom had already tried regular mouthwash, mints and gum. She found that the problem was most noticeable in those whose tongues were naturally coated with a film of bacteria and whose tongues also contained deep fissures in which organisms could hide.
SCIENCE AND FOLK REMEDIES BOTH WORK
If you have bad breath more than just occasionally and you don't smoke, and your doctor has ruled out an underlying medical cause, such as gastrointestinal upset, medications, gum disease, infected or decayed teeth or a respiratory tract infection, try these tactics suggested by women doctors.
Start with the basics. Occasional use of odor-masking rinses can help, but it's also important for women to pay strict attention to good dental hygiene, says Geraldine Morrow, D.M.D., past president of the
When To See A Doctor
Since bad breath can arise from a variety of causes--some minor and some serious--you should schedule an appointment with a dentist if the problem isn't resolved with home care in a few weeks.
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American Dental Association, a member of the American Association of Women Dentists and a dentist in Anchorage, Alaska. Start by brushing and flossing your teeth and scrubbing your tongue.
Brush with mouth rinse. A study by Dr. DeBoever found that people who brushed their tongues and rinsed with mouth rinse after breakfast and before going to bed reduced foul mouth odor. Specifically, people in the study followed these steps: They brushed their teeth with a toothpaste of their choice. Then they dipped their toothbrushes in a mouth rinse with 0.12 percent chlorhexidine gluconate (such as Peridex, a mouth rinse made by Proctor and Gamble) and brushed their tongues. Then they rinsed for 60 seconds with the same rinse. Last, they refrained from eating, drinking or rinsing with water for at least a half hour.
When the men and women in Dr. DeBoever's study followed this ritual for seven days, the suspect organisms in their mouths were significantly reduced, and so was their bad breath.
Switch to a rubber-tipped brush. Use a toothbrush with a rubber pick on the end to do a little housecleaning when you say "ah," says Penelope Shar, M.D., an internist in private practice in Bangor, Maine. Food can gather not only in your teeth and gums but also in hidden folds near your tonsils--"anywhere in the little pockets in the back of your mouth," she says. Left there, it can cause bad breath. A Water Pik-type device works, too.
Snack on a sprig. For basic food-related odors, munching on some parsley--a folk remedy of sorts--really does clear the air, says Dr. Shar.
Make water your after-dinner drink. Merely swishing your mouth with good old H2O will freshen your mouth after a meal or a coffee break. As an added bonus, it also helps remove plaque--the sticky buildup of bacteria and tartar that leads to tooth decay, gum disease and bad breath, says Dr. Navazesh.
