Fresh Breath For Valentines!
Spruce up for your Valentine….
As Valentine’s Day approaches, perhaps you are are looking forward to going on a date with somebody you met recently, perhaps you’re taking your wife out to dinner, perhaps you’re going to a singles event?
Whatever your plans, Abbey Road Dental wants to help you ensure your mouth is ready for the big day. Your breath matters a lot when it comes to romance, after all, whispering in someone’s ear isn’t as appealing if it comes with bad-smelling breath, and you’re not likely to get a first kiss if your date can smell your breath before you’ve even got properly acquainted!
So, let’s take a lot at the leading causes of bad breath, and how to stop them from ruining your Valentine’s Day:
Bacterial Overload
Often we can get a bacterial excess in the mouth causes bad odours. The way to cure this is by brushing and flossing twice a day for at least two minutes, and brush your tongue as well.
Tonsil Stones
Your tonsils have plenty of nooks and crannies to grab and collect bacteria and mucus creating a tonsil stone, which smells really bad. You can remove tonsil stones yourself using a cotton bud, or prevent them by gargling with salt water.
Bad Tummy
A bad tummy can cause you to burp and release bad smelling gas into your mouth. The cure for this is finding out what the tummy issues are causing it. A food intolerance may be to blame, or perhaps you have IBS and certain foods trigger a reaction? Getting to the bottom of the cause is the key to avoiding bad tummy related bad breath. In the short term, consuming fresh ginger or peppermint oil tablets might help.
Stinky Food
Lots of different types of food can cause you to have bad breath. Some will even linger for days afterwards. The two worst culprits are onion and garlic, so if you’re serious about getting a smooch on the big day, stay away from foods containing onion or garlic a few days leading up to your date.
Sinus Infection
A sinus infection can cause bad breath. If you think this is the problem, visit your doctor to get it diagnosed and then follow their advice for treatment.
Dry Mouth
Dry mouth can be caused by various things such as medication, smoking, too much caffeine, mouth breathing and certain illnesses. The problem is, it causes bad breath because saliva clears away bacteria. To aid this, try chewing sugar free chewing gum, or visiting Abbey Road Dental or your doctor for advice and possible solutions.
Oral problems
Issues like gum disease, infections and bad oral hygiene can cause bad breath. To avoid this visit our NW8 dentist in St John’s Wood every 6 months for a checkup and follow advice for improving your oral health regime.
Other Problems
Certain conditions like kidney problems and diabetes can actually affect your breath. If you believe a deeper problem may be the cause of your bad breath, please visit your GP.
Smoking & Alcohol
Smoking and drinking affect your breath in many ways. The smell of the alcohol or cigarettes themselves affect your breath, but smoking in itself can heighten your risk of gum disease, give you dry mouth and more. Excessive drinking is also known to have plenty of negative affects on your oral health. The only way to cure these issues is to keep drinking to government guidelines, and to quit smoking entirely. There’s plenty of support out there, and it could be a very romantic gift for your partner if they hate you smoking.
Make An Appointment At Abbey Road Dental
If you are due a checkup, or you think you may have oral issues causing bad breath, please give our St John’s Wood clinic a call on 02076241603 and we will be more than happy to get you booked in!