Causes and recovery tips for morning breath
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
Your one day begins with an abundance of energy and a though of the particular day’s plan when you wake up. Right? In contrast, are you initiate your day with a foul smell coming from the mouth when you get up from your bed? Then, this post is for you.
Don’t worry. You are not a single person suffering from this problem. 1 in 4 persons will probably be affected by such unpleasant taste and emitting a nasty smell from the mouth when they wake up.
Dentists term this as morning breath and it is a type of bad breath. Getting rid of this problem is feasible with simple acts.
What causes bad breath in the morning?
Finding the root cause for morning breath is quite tough as many factors are related to this problem. The most prominent aspect to mention is Dry mouth.
Saliva is indispensable to flush away the microbes inside the mouth. When the salivary glands do not produce enough saliva, the bacteria thrive and cause various oral diseases.
People with dry mouth (also known as Xerostomia) are highly susceptible to morning breath.
In general, our mouth does not produce enough saliva when we sleep. The food particles deposited on the teeth, gum surfaces, food debris lodged between the teeth are broken by the bacteria in the absence of saliva. It produces volatile sulphur compounds which smell filthy.
Senior adults who take some medications are also prone to bad breath in the morning because decongestants present in some over-the-counter drugs can effectively absorb the saliva and leave your mouth dry.
Apart from dry mouth and drugs, the other possible causes of morning breath include:
- Eating strong-smelling foods like Garlic and Onion in the late evening or night.
- Smoking
- Allergies like sinus congestion and post-nasal drip also emit a foul odor from the mouth.
If you are ineffective in cleaning our mouth, then you are highly susceptible to all the mentioned factors that made you a victim of morning breath.
How can you treat morning breath?
Getting rid of such bad breath in the morning is easy with better dental hygiene activities and lifestyle changes.
1) Drink more Water
Drinking more water helps everyone to produce more saliva. Besides cleaning the bacteria and other microbes in the mouth, saliva feed teeth with the essential nutrients. You know than drinking more water is beneficial for the health too.
Hence we recommend to drink more water but avoid soft drinks and sweetened drinks like soda to hydrate yourself. This is because the carbonated compounds and sugar in those fluids are detrimental to the teeth.
You can also prefer sugar-free chewing gums and sugarless candies to keep the moist condition inside your mouth.
2) Clean all the areas inside your mouth
With brushing, you can clean only certain parts of your teeth. The particles lodge in the spaces between teeth causes a nasty odor. Likewise, the microorganisms stick to the tongue surfaces are also the main culprit.
It is better to floss and scrape your tongue along with brushing.
Tip: If you brush before going to bed, then don’t eat after brushing at night.
3) Avoid Smoking
The toxic compounds present in cigarettes and the chemical compounds in alcoholic drinks also cause bad breath in the morning. Limiting or avoiding the consumption of those substances will benefit your oral health.
4) Natural Remedies
Chewing mint leaves, fennel seeds are the well-known natural remedies to reduce bad breath.
Conclusion
Bad breath in the morning (or) Morning breath is a common dental ailment. Everyone has some extent of this problem and goes away when they brush their teeth.
If you notice the bad breath persists for a whole day, then consult your dentist immediately. Such prolonged existence of bad breath might be a symptom of any underlying dental disease like gum or periodontal diseases.
