The Bad Breath Blog

Shopaholic Mommy’s MUST Haves has posted her TheraBreath review and giveaway! Be sure to stop by and enter for a chance to win some TheraBreath goodies. This Mommy writes, “We’ve all experienced it from time to time, sometimes right after a heavy meal, sometimes when you first wake up in the morning, bad breath is something we all deal with.  It can be really embarrassing!  It’s not a real confidence booster when you’re dressed up, looking sharp and your breath smells like something crawled into your mouth and died!” We couldn’t agree more! Shopaholic Mommy definitely read our package instructions, as they are different than most oral care products. “One big difference is that you use this dry!  That’s right!  You use the toothpaste dry and when you rinse, instead of water, use the TheraBreath oral rinse… Something else that I didn’t expect was that they suggest that you wet your dental floss with the Oral Rinse before flossing.  Though these were things I had never heard of nor tried before…” Check out her review to see if we changed her usual oral care routine.

Ashlynloves2blog has posted her TheraBreath review and giveaway. Be sure to check it out and enter for a chance to win! We especially love her section on TheraBreath’s Mouth-Wetting Lozenges. Here’s an excerpt where she talks about our toothpaste as well “I really dislike any flavored (cherry, bubble gum, chocolate) toothpaste so I was very pleased with the taste of the toothpaste.  Typically when I brush my tongue, other toothpastes create so much foam that I am gagging more than I am brushing. This was NOT the case with the TheraBreath toothpaste.” Do you agree with Ash? Read her entire review to find out. If you haven’t tried TheraBreath yet, enter her giveaway for a chance to win some.  Ashlynloves2blog has reviews and giveaways on everything from swimsuits to citrus peelers – stop by!

The blogger behind Our Village is a Little Different loves to have clean teeth and fresh breath. “I am an oral hygiene fanatic.   My husband likes to make fun of me because I love going to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned I have a wide array of dental related items.   I love the feeling of smooth, clean, teeth.  I’m also very conscious of breath issues.  I never left my house without sugarless gum to rewet my mouth and freshen my breath.  What always puzzled me was why, when I brushed so often, and took such meticulous care of my teeth, did my mouth not smell like a sparkling spearmint leaf, or a dazzling cinnamon stick?  I had been conditioned to believe that these were the answers to beautiful breath.” Catherine is our dream reviewer! But what do we love the most? Before she even tried our products, she read our Bad Breath Bible to fully educate herself.  You can download your FREE copy here: www.therabreath.com/ebook.asp. So stop by Our Village is a Little Different to read Catherine’s review and enter her TheraBreath giveaway, but mostly importantly, read all of the new things that she discovered to improve her oral care routine because as she states in her review “I learned quite a bit, including the fact that I have been brushing my teeth the wrong way for all these years!” The same might be true for you.

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According to sources, it can be quite beneficial for those with halitosis to drink a little bit of apple cider vinegar each day (preferably  mixed with something else, due to the taste).  The benefits that you reap depend on how dedicated you are to your health, since not everyone can handle drinking this. 

Apple cider vinegar is actually a natural anti-bacterial agent and it contains potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, chlorine, sodium, sulfur, copper, iron, silicon and fluorine, all of which the human body need. It is created by crushing fresh apples and having them mature in wooden barrels. The fermentation properties of the apples are accelerated. When vinegar matures, it has a dark web-like bacterial foam called “mother”. Natural vinegars that have the “mother” have nutrients that vinegars available in stores do not have, so it is recommended that you get Natural Apple Cider Vinegar (with an average pH level of 5-7).

Since apple cider vinegar has acidic properties, it actually serves as a bad breath / halitosis cure. It also helps with the following ailments: sinus infections, sore throats, high cholesterol, skin conditions, food poisoning, allergies (in both humans and animals), immune system problems, muscle fatigue after exercising, metabolism issues, constipation, arthritis, gout, bladder stones, and urinary tract infections.

The anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath feast on the amino acids cysteine and methionine (the building blocks of the proteins that are found in mucus, phlegm, and dairy foods). In fact, many people notice that when they drink too much milk or eat too much cheese they end up with more mucus/phlegm in their throat. This is a natural reaction for many people and unfortunately, ends up causing more bad breath and awful tastes.

If you still have your tonsils, you may be harboring a higher number of the bacteria which can lead to a very misunderstood phenomenon called tonsilloliths. They are tonsil stones produced by the conglomeration of mucus draining down the back of the throat and the volatile sulfur compounds created by the bacteria which easily end up in the nooks and crannies of the tonsils every time one swallows. Countless times my patients told me that their dentists misdiagnosed these and told them that these were merely food particles. This couldn’t be further from the truth! For more information, see our article about Tonsil Stones.

If you suffer from excess mucus, sinus congestion and post nasal drip there are essentially only a few different routes that you can take:

1.  Use medication and or drugs to dry up the sinuses and prevent mucus buildup – all the while being careful to avoid a dry mouth, a likely side-effect of virtually all antihistamines. Dry mouth is the most common initiator of bad breath because it mimics an anaerobic environment, perfect for the bacteria to pump out volatile sulfur compounds. You should be careful about using any antihistamine frequently – many are habit forming!

2.  Use nasal/sinus drops. By squeezing 3-4 drops into each nostril (and then lightly inhaling to move the potent formula through the sinuses) twice daily, most people can finally experience that fresh breath and taste feeling by eliminating the production of sulfur compounds created by the reaction of mucus and the anaerobic sulfur producing bacteria.

3.  For chronic sinus problems, many patients will find relief by using an effective nasal-sinus irrigator, designed by an Ear Nose & Throat specialist) to flush the sinuses.

4.  Minimize the amount of post-nasal drip in your throat and sinuses, and eliminate the #1 side effect of excess mucus, bad breath, by using oxygenating oral care products. Other medication and drugs may help prevent post-nasal drip, but at what cost?

There are dozens of different over-the counter nasal decongestants and antihistamines that you can use to help relieve congestion and dry up excess mucus.  Some of them do what their manufacturers claim they can do, but most of them perform the job too well!  They create an extremely dry mouth, which exacerbates bad breath.  Even in cases where the dry mouth side effect is minimal, when you stop taking that medication, the problem often comes back even worse! This is because in some cases your body will actually develop a resistance to any antihistamines or nasal decongestants, especially nasal sprays (but not all of them–TheraBreath isn’t)!

The solution to the problem is to use a Nasal-Irrigator.

Nasal Irrigation is probably the most effective method of eliminating post-nasal drip and helping to control sinus infections. The unique pulsatile irrigation helps to restore ciliary function and relieve post nasal drip. A short period of regular use can stimulate the cilia (the tiny hair-like fibers in the nasal sinus passages) to restore their natural protective “sweeping & cleansing” action.

When you feel a sinus condition come about, or feel that you have persistent post-nasal drip and excess mucus, consistent daily use for 10 days should result in a clearing of the condition.

For best results, we recommend a combination of this easy-to-use home instrument with an oxygenating solution.

Stop Bad Breath Associated with Post-Nasal Drip, Excess Mucus, and Sinus Problems

For people who don’t really have sinus problems, just “off and on” or seasonal post-nasal drip, then an alternative (and better) solution might be to minimize the amount of excess mucus in the back of the throat and more importantly to make sure to neutralize the odor caused by this excess mucus.

The proteins in mucus make an excellent food source for the anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath. The bacteria feed off the amino acids, methionine and cysteine, and create extremely odorous and awful tasting volatile sulfur compounds as byproducts, which are the odors and awful tastes found in the medical condition ‘halitosis,’ which is more commonly known as bad breath.

Keep in mind that we always recommend using an oxygenating oral rinse and toothpaste as the primary ingredients of any breath treatment program.  Nasal-Sinus Drops eliminate odor from the sinuses, and these drops are highly effective at cleansing the sinuses (a very hard-to-reach area) of the volatile sulfur compounds that cause bad breath.