Can I tell you a secret?

Woah there tiger! You have had two cups of coffee, a glass of wine at lunch, last night’s curry is still lingering and you spent all of 10 seconds brushing your teeth this morning…you can tell me that secret tomorrow!

We all get bad breath at some point. What’s worse is that it’s not always easy to tell when it happens. Some people will make it obvious to you by turning away, covering their nose, squinting their eyes…or looking a bit dizzy! (Definitely time to end convo at that point!)

However, most people will not want to appear rude and will do all they can to ignore it. If you are blind or partially sighted and find it difficult to read facial expressions, it can be even more difficult to tell. To avoid embarrassment it’s better to be safe than sorry, check out some simple but effective breath fresheners below:

1. Have a glass of water after each meal – The decrease in saliva production needed to combat dehydration can cause a smelly bacterial build-up. A glass of water will also clear away any food debris.

2, Eat citrus – Keep an orange or a tangerine in your bag and eat it as a dessert after a particularly strong smelling / flavoured meal. The acid in citrus fruits will stimulate saliva which will suppress some of the odor-causing bacteria. The tangy taste of citrus fruits leaves the mouth smelling fresh.

3, Eat fresh mint – Store some away in a Tupperware tub in your desk drawer. Fresh mint is better than chewing gum because it is completely natural. Chewing fresh parsley after eating a meal can also help.

4, Brush twice a day – Brush your teeth in the morning and in the evening. If you are super intent on ridding yourself of bad breath, you can also bring your toothbrush to work and brush after lunch too. Softer to medium bristles are best for reaching all areas of the mouth and remember to brush your tongue.

5, Floss – Flossing can help with the build-up of plaque, which when in contact with oxygen, releases highly odorous gases causing bad breath. Left unchecked this can cause dental cavities meaning the added odour of rotting teeth. Yuck!

6, Keep spicy / strong smelling food to a minimum – Highly aromatic foods such as garlic, onions and spice can linger on your breath and sometimes not even effective cleaning can remove them immediately.

7, Be aware of your alcohol breath – Drinking alcohol can cause the breath to become odorous, even if the alcohol itself contains no apparent smell, the actually alcohol content remains on our breath for many hours.

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8, Eat healthily and regularly – The chemical reactions caused by not eating can make the breath smell ‘acidy’. Also, eating small meals often will keep you from getting hungry and eating the wrong foods.

9. Don’t smoke! – Smoking cause the oral cavity and airways to become dehydrated, so not only do smokers have tobacco odour to fight they also have dehydration-related bad breath too, EWWWW!

10. Kill a cold – Sinus problems from common colds or allergies increase the amount of secretions from the nose to the throat, these bacteria can settle in the back of the mouth, meaning bad breath occurs.

11, Take care of your gums – If gums are sore and red, you may have gum disease, another cause of bad breath, which will need treatment from your dentist.

*Halitosis can be a sign of a more serious problem. If your badbreath just won’t go away, see your doctor or dentist to make sure there is not some more serious cause.