Bad breath is one of the most common hygiene issues for a teenager. Most of them do not know if they have bad breath or not. Bad odor coming out from your own mouth can be as disturbing as when it comes from a friend’s. Let’s face it: teens have thousands things to do in twenty-four hours of time. Maintaining good oral hygiene is not always at the top of the list.
How to Tell if You Have Bad Breath?
Now that you are in your teenage years, it is time for you to grow up and take responsibility for your own hygiene. The common method of blowing in your hand and then smelling it is the most inaccurate method to indicate whether you have bad breath or not. It may or may not sound gross, but it’s best to lick the back of your hand and then, when the saliva dries out, smell it. Yes, that smell is definitely your breath, and now you know why your friends are cringing as you come closer.
Oral Hygiene Basics
We eat with our mouths, and our teeth do the job of breaking food down into small pieces to help us swallow. During all this hard work, those micro pieces get stuck in between teeth. There are different dental studies correlating bad breath with poor dental conditions and with some diseases. Cleaning your teeth, tongue, and gums can be the first step of your dental hygiene routine and practicing these basics twice a day–after breakfast and dinner–can lessen bad breath.
Reasons & Prevention Strategies
Medical Causes
There can be medical or non-medical reasons behind your bad breath. It is important to rule out the medical reasons that can cause bad breath with the help of your dentist. The most obvious medical reasons are as follows:
- Gum disease (gingivitis)
- Cavities
- Oral cancer
- Dry mouth (xerostomia)
- Bacteria on the tongue
- Abscessed tooth
- Cavities
- Dentures
- Impacted tooth
- Lung infection
- Sinusitis
- Throat infection or tonsillitis
Non-Medical Causes
The non-medical issues usually depend on your lifestyle choices. Eating spicy food often causes bad breath.
It is a good idea to have at least 8 glasses of water a day. A dehydrated mouth starts releasing gas, as natural saliva is absent in a dry mouth, and therefore cannot keep the bacteria out.
Brushing only the teeth may cause a white carpet on the back of your tongue, so make sure you’re brushing your tongue.
If you use alcohol or smoke tobacco, you may need to rethink your lifestyle choices, as your bad breath might be related to that.
Using certain prescribed medications can cause the occurrence of bad breath as well.
Why Does Good Breath Matter?
Certain smells are enjoyable, and train our brain to feel the beauty of what they are associated with. If you have bad breath, it might cost you your reputation and any chance of impressing the girl or boy you like. So, it’s better to prevent bad breath with a 10 minute routine before bedtime than to be embarrassed by bad breath.