Simple measures can help put a muzzle on bad breath

Some simple measures can help put a muzzle on bad breath, according to an article in the June issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Bad breath can be caused by food particles in the mouth, dry mouth, or a health problem. Mayo experts offer these tips to help prevent it:

Brush your teeth or use mouthwash after you eat. Brushing is the more effective of the two. If you use mouthwash, make sure you swish it around in your mouth for 30 seconds before you spit it out.

Floss your teeth at least once a day in order to remove decaying food.

When brushing your teeth, brush the back of your tongue, too, or scrape it with a tongue scraper.

Drink water to keep your mouth moist. When your mouth gets dry, there isn't enough saliva to wash away dead cells. You can also chew sugarless gum or suck on sugarless hard candy to help stimulate saliva production.

Don't eat foods - such as onions and garlic - that encourage bad breath. These foods contain oils that are transferred to the lungs and exhaled.

If you have dentures, clean them daily to get rid of food particles and bacteria.

If these simple measures don't improve your bad breath, see your doctor or dentist. Persistent bad breath may be a sign of periodontal disease, an abscessed tooth, chronic sinusitis, postnasal drip, chronic bronchitis, certain kinds of oesophageal problems, and other health conditions.

《梅奧門診健康通訊》6月號上刊登的一篇文章提到，有幾種簡單的方法可防止口臭。

導致口腔異味的原因包括口中的食物殘渣、口腔干燥及健康問題。梅奧門診的專家們提出以下幾種防止口臭的方法。

飯后刷牙或用漱口水漱口。刷牙比漱口水的效果好。如果用漱口水，要保證漱口水在口中漱半分鐘，再吐出來。

每天至少用牙線清潔牙齒一次，以清除殘留在牙縫間的腐爛食物。

刷牙時，還要刷刷舌根，或用刮舌器將舌頭刮干凈。

多喝水以保持口腔濕潤。當口腔變得干燥時，口中便沒有足夠的唾液將壞死細胞沖走。你也可以嚼無糖口香糖或含無糖硬糖來促進唾液分泌。

不要吃易導致口腔異味的食品，如洋蔥和大蒜。這些食品中所含的油會轉移到肺中，然后被呼出來。

如果你戴假牙，要每天清洗，以清除假牙上的食物殘渣和細菌。

如果這些簡便方法不能消除你的口腔異味，最好去看醫生或牙醫。持久的口腔異味可能是某種疾病的征兆，如牙齦病、牙床膿腫、慢性鼻竇炎、后鼻漏、慢性支氣管炎或某些食道疾病及其他健康問題。