With thanks to: The Daily Mail Online
How drinking black coffee and forgetting mouthwash can stop halitosis
DRINK COFFEE — BUT WITHOUT MILK
We all know a cappuccino can leave a strong taste in the mouth. But it’s the dehydrating effect of the caffeine, combined with milk residue fermenting in your mouth, that causes the pong, rather than the coffee beans.
In fact, Israeli scientists found that coffee can inhibit the bacteria that lead to bad breath. So if you don’t want to cut back, at least try drinking it black, followed by plenty of water.
SWAP BREAKFAST TEA FOR GREEN
An even better way to get your caffeine kick, and keep your breath sweet, is switching to green tea.
Made from the same plant as your normal cuppa, it retains less caffeine and more polyphenols, which are believed to neutralise the sulphurous gases given off by oral bacteria.
FORGET MOUTHWASH
Ever noticed that your breath is bad after a night on the sauce? That’s because alcohol is a diuretic, which dries up the saliva needed to break down and rinse away bacteria.
But many mouthwashes contain alcohol, too — so when the minty smell wears off, you could be left with even staler breath than before.
RINSE WITH COCONUT OIL
sluicing with coconut oil for ten to 15 minutes, then spitting it out, could be the best way to dislodge oral bacteria from their hiding places.
Dr Payman Langroudi, a dentist from the chain Enlighten Smiles, says: ‘These micro-organisms contain fatty membranes that are attracted to the oil as you swill it around. Coconut oil also has antibacterial properties.’
GET A TONGUE MANICURE
Up to 85 per cent of the bacteria that cause bad breath are on the tongue’s surface. Some dentists offer ‘tongue manicures’ to strip away smelly debris, though experts at the British Dental Association say a toothbrush without toothpaste works well, too.
Try the Orabrush Tongue Cleaner (£5.10, boots.com) which claims to keep breath fresh for up to 12 hours.
If you’ve scraped your tongue and ditched the coffee but your breath is still off-putting, try yoghurt.
According to the International Association for Dental Research, volunteers who ate 90g of yoghurt twice a day for six weeks saw an 80 per cent drop in the levels of hydrogen sulphide — a major cause of bad breath — in their saliva.
DON’T CHEW GUM FOR TOO LONG
that tingling feeling as you suck a fresh-breath mint isn’t killing bacteria. It’s just a sensation.
The main reason why chewing gum works is that it stimulates saliva production — but chew for too long and your stomach will produce extra acid in anticipation of food that never arrives, causing different smells.
Dr Mel Rosenberg, from the British Dental Association, recommends chewing a piece of sugarless gum for a few minutes, then throwing it away.
PICK UP A TOOTHPICK
This is the best way to remove food from teeth before it can putrefy. Food that lingers eventually turns to plaque, contributing to bad breath.
GET CRUNCHY
Much of our diet is too processed, says dentist Dr Phil Stemmer: ‘Because we chew less, there is less friction and the bacteria is not removed in the digestion process.’ Try eating crisp fruit and vegetables such as apples, celery and carrots.
THE GOOD NEWS FOR SIMON: IT’S NOT AS BAD AS HE THINKS . . .
Cowell may be a halitophobic – someone who thinks he has bad breath when he doesn’t.
Dr Stemmer estimates that 1 per cent of us wrongly think we have a problem:
‘The numbers are definitely growing and it has debilitating consequences. One lady I treated didn’t leave her house for seven years.’
One way to check if you do have bad breath, the British Dental Association says, is to smell your dental floss after you’ve used it.
But Dr Stemmer says: ‘The best test is asking a close friend or family member. If they love you, they’ll tell you the truth.’