Dentist Toronto

Store shelves are overflowing with mints, mouthwashes and other products designed to help people control bad breath. Yet these products help control bad breath (halitosis) only temporarily. And, they actually may be less effective in controlling bad breath than simply rinsing your mouth with water after brushing and flossing your teeth.

Certain foods, health conditions and habits are among the causes of bad breath. In many cases, you can improve bad breath with proper dental hygiene.

Here are the top 8 foods that can cause bad breath.

1. Foods high in proteins: Proteins found in meat, fish and seafood, eggs. Cereal grains, peas, beans, and lentils are a so a source of protein as are the ingredient of foods like cakes.

Red meat is also one of the major causes, not just because of how it reacts in your mouth but because it is so hard to break down and digest. As the stomach acids interact with the red meat, this can cause foul odors to regurgitate back into your throat and cause bad breath.

2. Spices: Garlic, onions and exotic spices such as curry are common sources of problems/ for many people. As these foods are digested, certain compounds are transmitted from the blood through the lungs and exhaled for up to 24 hours.

3. Dairy Foods: Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream etc are terrible for your breath. For the majority of the population, the proteins found in dairy foods cannot be broken down because of a lack of a specific enzyme (lactose). The fat content does not matter, it’s the protein content that counts. Skim milk is just as bad as cream. This condition is known as Lactose Intolerance. The problem is that these bad breath bacteria can break down the dairy proteins (which are full of Sulfur) to produce odours and bad tastes.

4. Volatile Sulfur Compounds: Chewing gum and mint with sugar and then anaerobic bacteria break them down they produce Volatile Sulfur Compounds or bad breath.

5. Sugary foods are a problem because all bacteria thrive in a sugar environment. Sugar provides an excellent fuel for their growth. If you need to use mints and candies, make sure they are sugarless. Do not be fooled by the false sense of minty taste. Taste is merely one of our five senses. You can have a great taste in your mouth, but the fumes you are exhaling can be an offensive smell to someone else. Stay away from candies, mints, and chewing gum if they contain sugar!

6. Alcohol: Regardless of whether it is contained in an alcoholic beverage or a/ mouthwash, alcohol is a desiccant or drying agent. A dry mouth provides an excellent breeding ground for the anaerobic bacteria which cause bad breath.

7. Coffee: If you have to drink it, drink it in moderate amounts only. Coffee contains acids which cause anaerobic bacteria to reproduce more quickly. It does not matter whether you drink regular or decaffeinated coffee. Both contain high levels of acid.

8. Smoking: Not only does it make you and your breath stink right from the start, it also dries your mouth, contributing to accelerated anaerobic bacteria reproduction and bad breath. If you really want to prevent bad breath, you will not smoke.

If these simple self-care techniques don’t solve your problem, you may want to see your dentist or doctor to rule out a more serious condition that may be causing your bad breath.