Why do I get bad breath in the mornings? -

Bad breath and teeth, how do they link together?

There are many reasons and theories as to why we get bad breath upon waking up in the morning. Our job is to educate our patients on what they can do to prevent bad breath. Here are some simple tips that you can follow to eliminate bad breath.

Frequently we notice when our patients come in for their appointment, there is some food residual built up between their teeth and sometimes in hard to access areas by the toothbrush or floss. As time goes by, these residues produce a very unpleasant smell. When the mouth is being closed overnight (unless you snore of course!!), oxygen is unable to penetrate and help reduce the odour from the bacteria with the typical oxidisation principal that oxygen uses and therefore when you wake up the good old “dog breath” is present.

When we do our dental check-ups it is apparent to us that many patients do not clean between their teeth correctly, and this can lead to bad breath and excess bacteria in the mouth. Here are three simple tips to help you to avoid this problem.

Tip No 1

Use the power of the shower head to flush your mouth and gaps between your teeth.

Most adjustable shower heads have a high-pressure setting that produces fine streams of water. By positioning the shower head at the correct angle, you can aim these fine streams of water at the gaps between your teeth (particularly the ones that are hard to get at like the back teeth and give them a good flush which in turn removes food build up). Be careful not to have the pressure too high as it may hurt your skin, so a little trial and error are required at first.

Tip No 2

Rinse your mouth with warm salty water and use our special technique below to extract unwanted food residual .

When rinsing your mouth by mixing one teaspoon salt into one glass of warm water, use a technique called pressurising or gargling which is using the muscles in your mouth to extract the gunk stuck between your teeth. It does take a bit of practice but works well.

1. First take a small amount of salt water mouthwash in your mouth, approximately 1/8 of the glass
2. Purse your lips liked you just sucked a sour lemon
3. Suck your mouth in as hard as you can moving your mouth as you go. This will, in turn, suck the water throughout your mouth and will remove the foul residues. Be sure to rinse straight away and do not swallow the mouthwash or residues. Give your mouth a good flush out with the remaining mouthwash