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Great tips from Don Harvey Dental in Alpharetta, GA to help you solve the case of Bad Breath!!!
If you have garlic breath from time to time, welcome to life. This occurs most of the time because of the foods we eat. It is common knowledge that foods like garlic and onions cause bad breath but here is a list of other foods and types of foods that cause bad breath.
Sugary foods are the most important to avoid if you are concerned about foods that cause bad breath. The sugar provides a quick food source for bacteria, and allows them to reproduce quickly. Avoid breath mints and chewing gum that contains sugar as those will do more harm than good. Also lay off of sugary drinks, especially soda.
Bacteria that cause bad breath thrive in this higher acidic environment. Here are foods that heighten the acidic pH level in the mouth. They include citrus (lemons, oranges, grapefruit) vinegar and eggs. Although bacteria do like an acidic environment, eating acidic foods does not negatively affect breath nearly as much as eating foods that contain a lot of sugar, dry out the mouth, or that are naturally just smelly like garlic.
A dry mouth helps the anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath because these anaerobic bacteria are killed when exposed to oxygen which is found in saliva. Drinks with alcohol will dry out your mouth. Smoking also drys out the mouth very quickly. Unfortunately alcohol is also found in many mouthwashes. Be sure to use one that does not contain alcohol so it does not dry out the mouth.
Your saliva usually does a pretty good job of breaking food down and washing it down the throat and to the stomach through swallowing, but some foods are either fibrous or sticky and easily get stuck in between or on teeth. These left over food particles will act as fuel for the odor causing bacteria and will cause bad breath in time. Make sure to floss after eating foods like these. Foods that easily get stuck in your teeth include meat, popcorn, spinach, caramel, sticky candies like Jolly Ranchers and Mary Janes.
Foods with strong odors. This is where garlic, onions, salsa, and curry belong. Foods like garlic make you have such bad breath because garlic contains sulfur compounds, the exact product produced by the bacteria that cause bad breath. So when eating these foods, the bacteria do not even have to do anything and you are going to have breath because the sulfur compounds will get in your mouth from these foods. Be sure to brush, floss, and gargle mouthwash very well after eating these foods to rid your mouth of these sulfur compounds. You may find it is also necessary to use a tongue scraper or scrub the tongue well after eating these foods.
By the way, brushing and flossing and scraping your tongue should eliminate the bad breath associated with the foods you eat. However, if you still have chronic bad breath, you should see your dentist right away because you probably have gum disease. And that, my friend, is a lot more serious than garlic breath!
If you or someone you know suffers from bad breath, Call Don Harvey Dental at 770-343-6565 Today and Schedule your dental visit! Our staff of Dental Experts will take great care of You! You can also visit our website at www.DonHarveyDental.com
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