Warren, Michigan Dentist Discusses Bad Breath

Hi. I’m Dr. Greg Apsey, your Warren, Michigan dentist at (586) 573-7700 and I’m here today to speak with you about bad breath and handling that issue if you should have it yourself. First of all, excellent oral hygiene is very important in fighting bad breath and excellent oral hygiene includes brushing, flossing, tongue scraping; which is not the most comfortable thing but actually very effective. And you can use mouthwash as well. But really, mechanical removal of bacteria and food debris from the mouth, in those ways is very effective. It’s also important to remain hydrated because first of all, the water is going to help wash away bacteria and wash away food particles. But water also, if you are well hydrated, is going to allow you to produce more saliva, which is a natural cleansing mechanism that occurs in the mouth.

Those are my first recommendations. The only problem is, sometimes we still have bad breath even with all of that. Bad breath occurs because of certain sulfur compounds that are vaporous sulfur compounds that are produced in the mouth by bacteria that are in the mouth. Try as we might, we can’t remove 100% of the bacteria. So they do produce smelly vapors that come off, and then are breathed out when we’re talking.

Certain foods that we eat are also a factor of bad breath. Notably, garlic and onions also contain large amounts of these sulfurous compounds and when we eat them, those products stick with us. And they actually even get into the bloodstream. And they come out in the sweat, but certainly, they remain in the mouth for some time. There are also several food items that you can combine with garlic and onions that can help to neutralize the odors associated with those foods. First of all, tea. Drinking a cup of tea or several cups of tea during the day has many advantages. Both green and black tea, especially green tea, contains polyphenols. Which help to destroy the growth of bacteria in the mouth and they reduce the bad breath from bacteria. Pro-biotic yogurt is also very good. Now I’m talking about plain yogurt and most people who think, you know, of eating yogurt, they want to eat a sweetened yogurt. Unfortunately, sweetened yogurt is not going to have the same effect. You need to eat plain yogurt, six ounces a day. What’s good about the yogurt is that it contains bacteria, lacto bacillus and streptococcus. These bacteria actually compete with other bacteria in the mouth. So what you’re doing is you’re replacing possibly unhealthy bacteria with a more healthy type of bacteria. That’s not going produce sulfur gases.

Some other foods that also contain high levels of polyphenols are parsley and basil and apples and spinach. All of these contain high levels of polyphenols, which break down the naturally occurring sulfur compounds, which are in garlic and onions. So, if you combine those foods you’re kind of counteracting the bad parts of garlic and onions. So, you know, think pesto. Pesto is a combination of parsley, and/or basil and garlic and/or apples with your garlic and your pork, you know? Pork dishes, that sort of thing. So basically, what you want to do is try to combine foods that counteract the other. Cherries and lettuce also are very good. They help to remove another compound which is methyl mercaptan. It’s another odorous gas released by mouth bacteria. Basically, cherries and lettuce help to counteract that odorous compound as well.

So the main things are, keep your mouth clean, stay hydrated, and include some of these healthy, polyphenol-rich foods in your diet. And you will have a fresher mouth.

Thanks for listening.

Warren, Michigan Dentist Discusses Bad Breath

If you have further questions regarding the treatment of Bad Breath, visit our website drapseydds.com or schedule an appointment at our Warren, Michigan office by calling (586) 573-7700.