Periproducts - FAQ's

It is almost impossible for people to determine if their own breath offends. Cupping our hands over our mouths and trying to smell our breath is ineffective. This is because we often don't produce bad breath until we talk. Talking forces out foul breath from the back of the mouth where the vast majority of bad breath is produced on the back of the tongue.

Removing the coating on the tongue with a cotton bud or piece of gauze and smelling it can help you to determine the freshness of your breath. Alternatively, placing, an interdental product such as the Denti-Brush Wire Free interdental brush between the teeth and smelling it can also be very revealing. Once you have established whether your breath is less than fresh or OK, it is a good idea to continue to clean between the teeth as this is another area where food debris, organic matter and odour causing bacteria can stagnate.

Also using a tongue cleanser such as the OOLITT excel will remove foul smelling odour causing VSC, food debris, organic matter and bacteria associated with tooth decay, gum problems and bad breath. This will help to create a clean tongue, fresher breath, heightened taste sensations and a healthier mouth

Apart from the smell of the cigarette on the breath there are other contributing factors that cause bad breath. Smoking has a drying effect on oral tissues, gums, cheeks and tongue. Decreased moisture in the mouth limits the washing and buffering effect of saliva on oral bacteria and their waste products, thus aggravating a person's problems with bad breath. People who smoke are at also at greater risk from having gum problems, known as periodontal disease, than people who do not smoke. A thick brown, sticky coating can also build up on the surface of the tongue trapping odour causing bacteria.

Regular check-ups are important, as bad breath can be sometimes be a sign of gum disease. Your dentist will be able to advise you and the hygienist will be able to instruct you in the best way to improve your oral hygiene. Dentist and Hygienist can also recommend the best dental products for you to use such as the RetarDEX oral care range.

One way to let a person know that they have bad breath is by telling one of their close friends or relatives. Most of the time people are not as offended when someone close tells them about their bad breath. If you feel as though you are close enough to that person, then you could possibly be the one to break the bad breath news. Obviously, anytime someone is told that they have bad breath, it is not always a pleasant time nor will that person always respond positively, but at least they know it and they can find ways to solve the problem.

Keep your mouth moist. Avoid becoming dehydrated; drink at least 3 litres of water daily. Avoid mouthwashes that contain alcohol which is known to dry the mouth.

Eat regularly and consume plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid snacking on sugar based products (Those containing refined sugars such as Sucrose or Glucose). Refined sugars greatly increase bacterial growth in the mouth and this increase in plaque results in the production of greater volumes of offensive gases.

Ensure you have a balanced diet with adequate intake of vitamins, particularly vitamin C. A balanced diet should include sufficient mineral content as some can have a positive effect on reducing the development of plaque.

Don't smoke: nobody pretends that it's easy to stop but most people agree it makes sense for many health reasons, including avoiding bad breath. Seek professional help and supportive friends to help you quit.

Daily and thorough removal of as much bacterial build-up as possible is an essential part of combating and preventing bad breath.

Use a tooth paste, oral rinse and spray such as the RetarDEX oral care range that is clinically proven to eliminate not mask bad breath compounds.

Visit your dentist regularly for checks of all aspects of your mouth health, especially your gums. It is advisable to allow either your dentist or a hygienist to clean round your teeth and gums frequently (As recommended by your dentist). This extra help, over and above your own daily discipline of cleaning, will enhance the cleanliness of your mouth and contribute to reducing halitosis and gum disease.

Ordinarily conventional mouthwashes only temporarily mask bad breath with a pleasant minty flavour. The alcohol found in some mouthwashes also dries out the mouth encouraging the production of odour causing bacteria and Volatile Sulphur Compounds (VSC)

Choose a mouthwash and toothpaste that contains an ingredient that is clinically proven to eliminate not mask odour causing compounds and a mouthwash which does not contain alcohol.

If you are, then your chances of having bad breath are greater. This is because mouth breathing dries out your mouth, letting the bacteria grow and the odours escape.

Some people are mouth breathers because their nasal air flow is somehow obstructed. This can also cause odour from your nasal passages.

If you are a frequent mouth breather because of allergies, then some of the nasal discharge may find its way onto your tongue, where it can be a major cause of bad breath.

Babies and very small children can have bad breath. One common type is that associated with throat infections. Very young children can have a bad smell from the back of their tongues. This odour can be removed by cleaning the tongue, although this is more difficult to perform with youngsters. Young children can also have odour coming from their teeth. In a mouth with erupting adult teeth and baby teeth falling out, known as a mixed dentition, it is harder to keep the teeth and gums clean. In most cases, proper brushing, using an effective toothpaste and mouth wash can take care of this. In some cases, in preteens and teenagers, cleaning between the teeth with an interdental brush may be extremely important to minimise bad breath.

With time, dentures often develop a characteristic smell. They come in continual contact with saliva, food, drink and billions of bacteria. Usually, it is not enough to just brush your dentures and stick them back in the mouth, although brushing is important. Unless your dentist advises otherwise, take your denture(s) out at night. Place them in a solution of RetarDEX oral rinse and brush with RetarDEX toothpaste to deodorise and remove the saliva, food, organic debris and bacteria which have built up during the day. Cleaning the tongue with a tongue cleanser and bushing the gums and rinsing the mouth are still vitally important to reduce unpleasant breath odours.

Saliva is the natural mouthwash we were born with. People who do not have sufficient flow of saliva tend to suffer from more dental caries and periodontal disease and can have more trouble wearing dentures. Many people do not relate the two together - but according to research bad breath is induced by the dry mouth condition. Saliva is important to individuals because it produces enzymes that help to digest the foods we consume, balances the pH or acid levels in the mouth, and creates high amounts of oxygen that helps to keep the oral tissues safe.

People with dry mouths are lacking the quantity of saliva that is required to keep the mouth healthy and to supply it with enough oxygen. Without the necessary quantity of oxygen the oral tissues are not as protected as they should be and it will allow the bacteria associated with bad breath thrive.

This is often a common problem for people whose jobs require them to talk constantly. Lawyers, teachers, professors, and salespeople, for example, often encounter bad breath. Talking dries the mouth making a friendlier environment for odour causing bacteria to multiply which cause bad breath. The more one talks the drier the mouth becomes and the more odour causing bacteria proliferate.

Drinking water can keep the mouth moist and also stimulates saliva flow. If you can't drink water using a mouth spray which had an active ingredient in it which is clinically proven to eliminate odour causing compounds and appears to increase salivary flow could help. Stimulating the salivary flow and moistening the mouth creates a less friendly environment for the odour causing bacteria.

It is common for women to produce bad breath during their menstrual cycle. Hormonal changes make the gums more hospitable to odour causing bacteria.

In addition, prior to menstruation, tiny capillaries which run through the gums become more fragile and tend to burst releasing small quantities of blood into the gums. Bacteria feed on this blood creating odorous volatile sulphur compounds.

The little white particles that you are coughing up are called tonsilloliths and except for their bad smell is not a condition to be worried about. Tonsilloliths form when mucus, bacteria, and debris condense into small particles on the surface of the tonsils. These odorous balls of material are sometimes coughed up. Having tonsilloliths does not automatically mean that your breath is offensive as tonsilloliths contribute very little to bad breath.

It is recommended to brush and rinse at least twice a day; Morning, after breakfast, allowing 20minutes between drinking orange juice or any other fruit juice and brushing and rinsing; and Evening before bedtime . Waiting 20minutes between drinking fruit juices and brushing is to allow the enamel on the teeth to harden as some research suggests that it may have been softened by the fruit acid.

Since in many instances, bad breath involves the back of the tongue it is probably helpful to gargle with the mouth rinse. Some dentist and hygienist recommend extending the tongue while gargling, in order to allow the mouth rinse to reach farther back and to use a tongue cleanser.

Most people have bad breath at one time or another. In 9 out of 10 cases it originates from within the mouth. Of this 80% comes from the back of the tongue. The best way to find out if you have it on a regular basis is to ask someone close to you. Family members will find a way of telling you the truth you can also ask a very close friend. Your dentist may also be able to let you know if asked.

Upon awakening
This is known as morning breath. The reduced salivary flow at night encourages the production of the bacteria associated with bad breath.

When your mouth is dry
Many things cause dry mouth - not drinking enough fluids, having just given a long speech, being under stress, and certain medications such as decongestives.

Products with high levels of proteins, such as milk products and meat
If a little piece of meat remains between you teeth for a time, it is rapidly putrefied. Coffee may increase malodour, although no scientific evidence is available.

Foods containing onions, garlic, and various spices - although this should be transient.
Directly prior to or during the menstrual period, probably because the gums tend to get swollen and trap more bacteria and/or food and organic debris.