About one in four people are thought to have bad breath (halitosis) regularly.

What causes bad breath?

There are a number of things that can trigger bad breath It’s usually the result of bad oral health. If germs build up in your mouth, the toxins produced can trigger your breath to smell.

Bacteria break down pieces of food in the mouth, and might release an unpleasant-smelling gas. Any food trapped on your teeth– particularly in between them– is broken down by germs, which might trigger bad breath.

Relentless bad breath can often suggest gum disease. Eating highly flavoured foods, such as onions and garlic, can likewise trigger your breath to smell, as can smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

Sometimes, bad breath can happen after an infection or health problem, or as a result of taking specific kinds of medication.

Learn more about the reasons for bad breath.
Treating and preventing bad breath.

Improving your oral health is normally adequate to cure bad breath and stop it taking place once again.

To improve your oral health, make sure you:

floss between your teeth daily
brush your teeth and gums frequently
clean your tongue frequently

Learn more about dealing with and preventing bad breath.
When to look for medical advice

See your dental practitioner, dental hygienist or dental therapist first if you still have bad breath after making changes to enhance your dental hygiene.

You may likewise need to visit your GP as there might be a medical cause that needs to be examined.

Don’t attempt to conceal the smell of your breath when looking for medical suggestions as it might make it harder to discover what’s triggering the problem.
Do I have bad breath?

It’s not constantly simple to tell if you have bad breath. Other individuals may see it first, but they might feel unpleasant informing you.

A simple test to discover whether you have bad breath is to lick the inside of your wrist with the back of your tongue and wait a few seconds till the saliva dries. If your wrist smells undesirable, it’s likely your breath does, too.

There are numerous bad breath home remedies that can be easily used to cure halitosis. However, understanding the symptoms of bad breath is essential to know what remedies to use to fix it. In majority of the cases, bad breath is a result of a dirty mouth, with plague and rotten food particles in between the teeth causing the foul odour. Occasionally, halitosis can also be caused by certain dental and medical problems, such as gum infection, diabetes, infection in the respiratory tract etc.

Once the symptom of bad breath is identified, finding cures for bad breath should not be a problem; and some of the most useful bad breath home remedies are listed in the following sections:

Bad Breath Home Remedies: Natural Remedies

There are numerous effective bad breath remedies that you can easily find by raiding your kitchen.

Drink Green & Black Tea: Both these types of teas are said to contain a compound known as polyphenols, which helps stop bacterial growth in your mouth, and therefore are a great bad breath home remedy option.

Baking Soda: Cleaning your teeth using baking soda is another great option to eliminate bad breath.  Not only is it easily available, but using just a little bit can help you obtain a fresh breath.

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables: Crunchy and fresh fruits and vegetables like celery, carrots, apples etc are considered to be useful breath home remedies as they aid in fighting plague and thus keeping your mouth clean.

Aromatic spices: A great option to cure halitosis is to chew on spices such as clove, cardamom etc., especially post meals. These spices are believed to have antimicrobial properties, making it a great breath home remedy.

Bad Breath Home Remedies: Healthy Habits

Bad breath is usually caused due to the rotting of food particles trapped between your teeth; and hence it is essential to brush and floss on a regular basis if you wish to eliminate foul mouth odour. Irregular brushing might also result in gum infections, which is another cause for bad breath

Another bad breath home remedy, which is often neglected, is to clean your tongue on a regular basis. Bacteria need not only grow on your teeth, but on your tongue as well, so cleaning it is important to eliminate bad breath.

Drinking water regularly is another simple but effective bad breath home remedy. Saliva is said to be a natural antibacterial agent that cleanses the particles, hence leaving your mouth dry may result in foul mouth odour.

Bad Breath Home Remedies: Other Preventive Measures

Even if you have good health and hygiene, stress can also lead to bad breath, hence managing stress is also considered to be an important bad breath home remedy. Stress results in the production of certain sulfur compounds in the mouth, which make the mouth dry, and therefore might result in bad breath.

Hence depending on the cause of your bad breath, there are plenty of bad breath home remedies that you can easily use to cure your bad breath

The type of food you eat, unhealthy dental and other lifestyle habits are root Halitosis causes. While these are the major causes, it is essential to have an in depth understanding of Halitosis, a medical term for bad breath, so that appropriate remedial action can be taken.

Halitosis Causes: Your Diet

Food items with strong odor are primary halitosis causes.  Items that come under this category include garlic, onion, alcohol, some types of fish, certain spices etc. The reason these food items result in bad breath is that after entering the blood stream and getting transferred into the lungs, they are exhaled with a bad odor.

If your diet primarily contains low carb products, it can also be a halitosis cause as it results in a condition known as ‘Ketone Breath’. Since the diet is low on carbohydrates, the body burns fat as its energy source, the final products of which are ketones. As a result, there can be an acetone-like odour when you exhale.

Halitosis Causes: Unhealthy Habits

It should come as no surprise that irregular brushing and flossing of your teeth is another root Halitosis cause. If food particles are not removed from your mouth, it may eventually lead to a Halitosis condition, resulting in you exhaling bad odour. These food particles can be a further cause for concern, as it may end up causing bacterial growth. Not only might this lead to tooth aches and decay, but it might also result in Halitosis.

Another halitosis cause is having a dry mouth. If your mouth is dry, it results in a decreased flow of saliva. Since saliva is an antibacterial agent that is vital to removing particles in your mouth that cause bad odour, lack of it will result in a halitosis condition. Usually dry mouth is caused due to inhaling through the mouth, or even due to some medications.

Consuming tobacco products on a regular basis is also one of the main Halitosis causes.  If you frequently smoke or chew tobacco products, you are highly likely to exhale bad odour, apart from leading to yellowing of your teeth and maybe even decay.

 Halitosis Causes: Medical Disorders

There are certain medical disorders, which might also be a Halitosis cause, and hence result in foul mouth odour. Some medical conditions that commonly lead to exhaling bad odour include throat infections such as tonsillitis, infections in the respiratory tract, bronchitis, gum infection etc. At times even conditions such as kidney diseases, diabetes, and lactose intolerance might lead to foul mouth odour.

Certain dental appliances might also be a halitosis cause. If you are taking dental treatment, and using dentures or braces, there is a chance that it may lead to halitosis. Often food particles are not properly removed from appliances such as braces, which eventually rot and lead to bad breath. If these appliances are not well fitted, it may even lead to infections in your mouth, which certainly is another halitosis cause!

Being a highly common phenomena, today there are numerous successful cures for halitosis, easily available. A few simple changes in your daily habits and lifestyle can prove to be quite beneficial in eliminating bad breath, leading you to a healthier lifestyle. There are multiple available cures for halitosis, ass outlined below.

Dietary Cures for Halitosis:

All food that you ingest begins to breakdown first in your mouth. Some foods stay behind and decay, and other are absorbed in your bloodstream and carried to the lungs. Hence, your diet can majorly contribute to causing bad breath, though it is temporary. Avoiding certain foods like, garlic, onions and strong spices and avoiding a low carbohydrate diet, is an easy cure for halitosis. Balancing your protein rich foods, such as meat, with green vegetables, also helps eliminate halitosis. Taking in foods such as seeds, nuts, fruits on a regular basis can help keep away and cure bad breath.
Getting rid of certain addictive habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol can be a primary cure for halitosis. Smoking not only induces bad breath, it can also aggravate the problem. Regular smoking leaves behind the odour of tobacco and nicotine in your mouth, as it infects the gums, releasing a strong smell of decay. Similarly, avoiding high consumption of alcohol or substances like coffee are easy cures for halitosis on a regular basis.

Dental Cures for Halitosis:

Maintaining complete oral hygiene is a definite cure for bad breath.  Always after eating it is advisable to brush your teeth, in order to get rid of remaining food particles. Munching on solid fruits after meals always helps remove entrapped particles. To help cure halitosis, when brushing your teeth, always ensure that your toothbrush is dry, as a wet toothbrush is optimal for bacteria to grow on and get transferred to your teeth and gums. Along with regularly cleaning your teeth, it is often not enough to cure halitosis; tongue cleaning can make a significant difference.
Certain known cures for halitosis, though highly effective can also be risky to a person if used persistently. This includes chewing sugarless gum. It keeps the saliva flowing, avoiding lingering food smells, however it contains aspartame, which is a known carcinogen, able to cause cancer if used too excessively. Along with chewing gum, there are also certain chemicals that can completely cure halitosis, such as chlorhexidine. Though it kills bacteria in your mouth, releasing bad odour, it also results in killing your taste buds and is hence not advised on a continuous basis.

Home Remedial Cures for Halitosis:

There are also several known home remedies that are helpful cure for chronic halitosis in a hygienic and safe manner. Treatment can be done using Fenugreek, which is a tea made from a vegetable seed. It has proved to be most effective when prepared correctly. Eating avocado now and then is a great treatment for halitosis, as it allows the removal of decomposed particles in the mouth region, which highly contributes to bad breath. Another simple cure for halitosis is drinking raw juices of fruits and vegetable with no added substances. Juices from green vegetables are most effective is dissolving food particles and neutralising odour in your mouth, proving to be  extremely successful cures for halitosis.