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SRUTI
In a study conducted in parts of the United
States some years ago, among women aged between
18 and 35 years, it was found that odour ranked
first among top 5 factors they found alluring in
men. Not surprising, considering the fact that
you smell a person before you see him! Nobody
would want to be talked about as not having a
beautiful smile, bad dental hygiene, body odour
or bad breath. The significant dissmilarity
between body odour and bad breath is that
pungent body odour is far more easily fathomed
than bad breath where the offending person is
seldom aware of the condition. This discussion
centers on bad breath, bad dental hygiene, the
key causes and simple, easy to follow
dental care remedies for its control and a
beautiful smile.
You may have bad breath (halitosis)
because of:
Oral Bacteria: The principal
cause of bad breath is bacteria present in the
whitish coatingcovering the posterior(back)
portion of the tongue. Needless to say, the
situation is worsened by poor oral hygiene and
an unclean tongue due to lack of awareness about
dental care.
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Odouriferous
foods: Certain foodstuffs like garlic
and onion have characteristic offending
molecules which are broken down by bacteria and
are released and exhaled through the mouth. They
can affect a beautiful smile.
Smoking: Just like there is the
smoker's cough, so is there the smoker's breath
which gives it the stink because of the nicotine
and other substances derived from tobacco smoke.
This can affect a beautiful smile too.
Dry mouth (Xerostomia): A dry
mouth is often foul smelling and is perceived in
several situations, the most common being the
morning breath where the salivary secretion has
reduced during sleep and the mouth stinks after
arising. Teachers, lawyers and spokespersons
also frequently encounter a dry mouth after a
span of continuous speech. Also, certain drugs,
like antihistaminics cause the mouth to become
dry and this is manifested as bad breath by the
person on this medication.
Gum diseases, dental hygiene condition
such as abscesses, tooth decay poorly maintained
dentures, sinusitis and other medical disorders
of respiratory renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal
origin need to be evaluated to rule out bad
breath arising from them.
What you can do to keep bad breath in
check:
l. Test your breath:
Put a drop of your saliva on your wrist and
allow it to dry. Then place your wrist close to
your nostrils and take a whiff. If it stinks it
shows your breath! Your dentist can also test
your breath for you.
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An instrument
called the Halimeter is devised to check the
volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) in a person’s
breath thereby giving him an idea of how bad the
situation is.
2. Clean your mouth after every meal as a
habit You could use a mouth wash
preferably those containing chlorine dioxide or
sodium chloride as they are proven bad breath
combatants. A tongue scraper can be used to the
scrape debris on the tongue as far back as
possible for best results although an active gag
reflex may be encountered.
3. Make an appointment with
your dental hygienist or dentiist:
You could undergo a professional dental cleaning
at your dentist's clinic to treat bad breath due
to gum diseases as well as have him do a
thorough checkup to either eliminate or treat
previously mentioned dental conditions like
tooth decay which may be the culprits.
4. Adjuncts: Breathmint,
lozenges, drops, spray chewing gum are adjuncts
which when used along with the other remedies
help improve the situation although for a shot
while. So, waste no more precious moments in
gauging your breath and you may well have the
last laugh !!
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