When I was in San Diego, I had numerous patients with a history of gum disease. They had been seeing a gum specialist (periodontist) every six months, and alternate visits with me every six months as well. ( So they had their teeth and gums checked every 3 months). I know this sounds like a lot of visits, but it is common to be seen every 90 days, if your gums have been attacked by periodontal disease, as in most cases it is never cured, only managed.
I noticed that many of the patients, who by now had perfect, or relatively healthy gums, still had breath that smelled like persistent diseased or infected gums.
This lead me to become interested in the causes and cures for oral malodour, as it is now courteously known.(*please see below for more history)
- In many cases "bad breath" is simply "morning breath" that lasts all day. When we sleep our saliva flow shuts off. The dead cells, food and bacteria all start fermenting and upon awakening ...Voila! morning breath! If you skip breakfast and run off to work, you can be sure of not having many friends. Breakfast is one of the best ways to clean all the smelly debris off your tongue. It is best if you choose something like a crunchy bread roll, or wholewheat toast instead of soft white bread. An apple instead of a banana, crispy cereal instead of soft porridge...I think you get the picture.
- After breakfast make sure you perform perfect oral hygiene.(read some of the other posts on my blog for more information) If you didn't floss or clean between your teeth before bed, don't skip it now, as that is a sure way to get gum disease and bad breath. Lastly, scrape your tongue making sure to reach the back third ,in the centre where most of the odour causing germs hide. Be careful not to injure the row of very large mushroom like taste buds back there! Some people can brush their tongue, but I find it gags me, and I can do a better job with a specially designed scraper. Chew a piece of sugar-free gum, preferably sweetened with Xylitol, on your way to work. This stimulates saliva flow, and also has a pleasant masking effect.
- Anything that dries out your mouth, like stress, air conditioning, dehydration, medication, alcohol containing mouthwashes, smoking and mouth breathing when you have a cold or allergies combined with "post-nasal-drip" helps the odour causing bacteria on the back third of your tongue. Chewing gum (as above) several times a day, can increase your saliva flow rate, but only if you drink enough water and stop or reduce drying medication (consult your GP)
- Using a mouthwash with Chlorhexidine for 2 consecutive days a week, can be beneficial. There are specific products to use, as some will stain your teeth. Also you can't use it straight after brushing with normal toothpaste, as it reduces the effect. (Please feel free contact me for further details on this)
*I had been a collector of antique dental instruments since after graduating in 1983. When I was in London I went to an exhibition of old medical and dental instruments. I purchased a few different items and so my collection started. In 1985, when in Hong Kong, I bought a set of silver instruments attached together...a toothpick, an ear pick and a tongue scraper! I later found out that they are from the 16th century. As my collection grew over the years I acquired a tortoise shell /ivory example and a Victorian silver scraper.
But it was only in 1994 that I thought of trying out the old Chinese scraper. It was fantastic. My food tasted better and my mouth felt cleaner. Since I was working close to people all day I felt more confident about my breath. I was now researching bad breath and was collaborating with experts all over the world.
This led me to design my own version of the old Chinese scraper and it was called "Breath-So-Fresh" I travelled to several biannual International Conferences on Breath Odour Research and became very involved. Tongue cleaning was becoming recognised as one of the ways to reduce the odour emanating from the mouth.
Click here for a summary of the "Breath-So-Fresh" tongue cleaner patent
For a very informative and highly regarded article on tongue cleaning click here
This article is solely the professional and individual opinion of Dr. Clifford Yudelman a Perth dentist in Nedlands, Western Australia and does not replace the professional guidance of your own personal dentist. He/she is the best person to counsel you on specific products for your specific situation. Please consult with them if you have any questions regarding anything mentioned in this article.
