Linda – The Probiotics Tooth Fairy

Bad breath can make a really bad impression, but once you understand what’s behind it, you can easily control your halitosis.

“Brush your teeth!” You say for the 5th or 10th or 28th time this week. Why do some kids need constant reminders to brush their teeth? If you’re one of the many frustrated parents who finds yourself wondering that very thing fairly often, one of the major things to consider is whether your messages about the importance of good oral hygiene are geared toward the right audience.

Was it the onions on your salad? That cup of decaf after dinner? When you wake up with morning breath, the cause hardly matters. You want the bad taste in your mouth – and the stink that goes with it – gone, and fast, please!

Tongue scrapers come in all shapes and sizes – and with all kinds of promises. From reducing bad breath to allegedly reducing plaque build-up, tongue scrapers are often touted as one of the best over-the-counter dental tools. By scraping the surface of the tongue, these devices are said to eliminate bacteria in the mouth and improve bad breath.

If you’ve ever had bad breath – and who hasn’t? – you know how embarrassing it can be.

True dry mouth – the condition where the body doesn’t produce enough saliva – keeps the mouth from flushing out the bacteria that produce volatile sulfur compounds – out of the mouth.

Harmful bacteria in the mouth are the most common cause of chronic bad breath. These bad bacteria, which are known to burrow below the gum line and cause periodontal disease and gingivitis, emit foul-smelling gases called Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSCs).

Maybe you didn’t know you had morning breath until the honeymoon was ending and your significant other piped up, or maybe you can taste it. Go ahead and Google “morning breath.” You’ll read everything from you didn’t brush your teeth well enough or you need to floss more often to your open (or closed) mouth accumulates bacteria from your nose (or the air) while you sleep.