Mt. Holly, NJ family Dentistry suggests ways to fight bad breath. Sometimes related to food habits or poor oral hygiene, bad breath, also called halitosis, may signify a health problem. Read some ways to fight halitosis.

Have you ever been told you have bad breath? It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Your Mt. Holly family dentists, Doctors H. William Greenberg, Julie J. Ko-Kim, Adam Cygler, and Vrishali Govitirkar want to spare you that kind of predicament. They also want your oral health and overall well-being to be at its absolute best. As such, they educate their patients all about bad breath, or halitosis, what it may mean and how to prevent it.

Bad breath may be related to habits

Our lifestyles can give us halitosis. Aromatic foods such as garlic and onions stick to the soft tissues of the mouth and also are inhaled into the lungs. People exhale their vapors for days. Other dietary habits leading to bad breath include not eating frequently enough or being poorly hydrated. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily enhances saliva production, allowing the mouth to self-rinse food particles and odor-causing plaque.

Of course, one of the worse bad breath offenders is tobacco. Smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco causes many well-known health problems, plus it contributes to gum disease which, when left untreated, causes serious bad breath.

Other factors may cause bad breath

Your Burlington County dentist will tell you that xerostomia causes bad breath. Xerostomia is dry mouth. When oral mucosa lacks sufficient saliva, breath smells strong and unpleasant. Xerostomia comes from:

• snoring
• medications
• certain health conditions
• sore throats
• postnasal drip
• gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD

Your 08060 dentist can help you fight bad breath

Doctors H. Greenberg, Ko-Kim, Cygler and Govitirkar recommend several strategies to combat halitosis. Most are easier to adopt than you may think.

Stop smoking or using tobacco. Your breath with thank you and so will your overall health. Speak to your Mt. Holly, NJ family dentists about ways to kick the habit.

Limit aromatic foods. While onions and garlic are good for you. think about when and how often you consume them.

Hydrate. Drink plenty of water, and eat breath cleansing foods such as strawberries, celery and other hard-textured fruits and vegetables.

Brush your teeth twice a day, and floss each day. This healthy habit controls plaque and the germs it contains. The same applies to dentures. Mouthwash is nice, but not really necessary to maintain fresh breath unless your Mt. Holly, NJ family dentist recommends a special kind.

Also, brush all soft tissues, including the roof of the mouth, cheeks, gums and the tongue. Because of its bumpy and sometimes grooved surface, the tongue requires extra brushing. Some 08060 dentists may recommend an implement called a tongue scraper to get it extra-clean and odor-free.

Treat gum disease. If your Burlington County dentist says you need periodontal scaling, get it done. Gum pockets hold destructive bacteria, causing gum and bone recession, tooth loosening and loss and yes, halitosis.

Get a check-up with your primary care physician. A physical condition outside the mouth could cause halitosis.

Why not begin fighting bad breath now?

Call Mt. Holly Dentistry today to set-up your six-month exam and cleaning appointment. It’s a great time to ask one of the doctors or hygienists for additional ways to keep teeth and gums healthy and breath fresh, too.