The Bad Breath Blog

Occasionally, the need for an alcohol-free mouthwash may send you searching through popular health blogs in the hopes of finding a product that will clear up your bad breath. Well, search no more, because TheraBreath offers a number of alcohol-free rinses that can neutralize odor and clean the mouth, all without harsh chemicals.

And if you think synthetic chemical are never marketed as halitosis solutions anymore, just look at how often photodynamic therapy for bad breath, or “blue light therapy,” appears in headlines. This treatment, which is totally unnecessary for eliminating oral odor, uses a chemical that can turn your urine and eye whites blue.

What is photodynamic therapy?

Most recently, an article published by the UK’s Daily Mail discussed using such a treatment for halitosis. In a piece that also touched on using “light therapy” for such conditions as epilepsy, cancer, stroke and stomach ulcers, halitosis stands out a bit. And the article uses a photo of a house lamp to illustrate “harnessing the power of light.” Hopefully your skepticism has been aroused.

As it turns out, so-called blue light treatments for halitosis are based on photodynamic therapy (PT), a century-old medical practice that uses photosensitizing chemicals (plus a narrow spectrum of light wavelengths) to kill pathogens or fight disease.

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So here’s an odd little conundrum: If you’d like to have sweet-smelling breath the next time you’re pulled over, it’s highly advisable that you use mouthwash every day. (After all, you can’t predict when you’ll be stopped by cops, unless you’re planning on speeding.) However, unless you use an alcohol-free mouthwash, there is a chance that your anti-halitosis regimen can land you a DUI charge.

This is true no matter what country you live in, as evidenced by a recent article in the Hong Kong Standard. The piece pointed out that in India, the odds of this happening are especially tilted, since police officers there often use their noses to diagnose drunkenness, rather than utilizing a breathalyzer.

Why would Indian cops use their sniffers instead of a finely calibrated machine?  ”If we start checking each of them with sensors, it will lead to traffic snarls on the road,” one officer explained to the news source.

Still, even in the U.S., where breathalyzers set the standard for DUI evidence collection, any driver who doesn’t use a specialty, alcohol-free mouthwash runs the risk, however slight, of getting hauled in for boozing that they didn’t have the pleasure of actually experiencing.

The ability of alcohol-based mouthwashes to register on a breathalyzer is no myth. Studies in journals like the aptly titled Alcohol and Alcoholism show that recent use of an alcohol-based mouthrinse can easily mimic a blood-alcohol content above 0.08.

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If you are afflicted with bad breath, you may be willing to go to any length and spend any amount of money to fix it. However, having fresh breath doesn’t have to break the bank. Women’s Health published a list of fresh breath tips that won’t hurt your wallet. Most of them were fairly obvious and we are always suggesting the same solutions: brushing, flossing and rinsing with an alcohol-free mouthwash at least twice daily along with cleaning your tongue along with your teeth and the interior of your mouth.

The magazine did also include tips such as chewing sugar-free gum (to avoid dry mouth), eating a carbohydrate-heavy diet and drinking unsweetened tea. These suggestions might help reduce oral odor caused by the VSCs that thrive in your mouth and compounds in your blood stream.

Along with these helpful tips, we’d also like to suggest trying a sugar-free mint if gum isn’t your thing. Also, be sure to keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water each day. If you want to be proactive about the health of your mouth (and the smell of your breath) we’d like to suggest trying our Multi Symptom Probiotics which can introduce healthy and helpful bacteria into your oral cavity and thus fight of the odor causing bugs. It’s also important to see your dentist regularly to prevent any problems that could get expensive to treat.

Regardless of how much money you make, fresh breath doesn’t have to be something you can’t afford. Just make sure you choose the best products for the health of your breath and mouth and it will save you a bunch of dental bills in the long run.

Bad breath (halitosis), especially if its chronic, can sometimes be a symptom of a much more major dilemma. It is very important that people do not overlook this problem, because it can be a sign of a terminal illness. Dental experts have linked halitosis to everything from pneumonia, bronchitis, chronic sinus infections to liver problems, kidney problems, and diabetes. People who have gastritis can have halitosis because of their stomach’s high acidic levels.

Unfortunately, most people do not regard bad breath as a serious problem, and just try to disguise it with peppermint or mouthwash. Halitosis has also been linked to chronic acid reflux and constipation. If one is practicing good oral hygiene, and avoiding foods that cause strong odors like petai, onions, etc., then it is possible that one has a problem that is more than just bad breath.

Many people will find that chewing gum only hides the bad breath and bad tastes temporarily. According to dental experts, 80% of bad breath sufferers have a mouth-related illness causing the problem; however, few people actually make regular visits to the dentist as needed. Tooth decay, cavities, gingivitis, dry mouth (xerostamia, caused by the lack of saliva), and oral cancer all cause halitosis. If a person has gum disease and does not treat it, it can lead to serious damage to the gums and jawbone. Some sources say that mouthwashes containing alcohol have been linked to oral cancer!  TheraBreath is an example of a mouthwash that does NOT have alcohol as an ingredient.