Most people will have suffered from bad breath at some point, it's only natural and could be down to smoking, what they've eaten or perhaps they just missed brushing their teeth and their mouth has become a little stale. For others however the problem is far worse as they are inflicted with chronic bad breath and no matter what they try seem never able to rid their mouths of bad taste and odor.

Within the tongue and throat surface a harmless bacteria lives that assists with food digestion by breaking down proteins in some foods. In some cases the bacteria accelerate this process and this causes an excess of amino acids that are high in Sulfur and it is when the harmless bacteria meets the amino acids that the halitosis and bad tasting compounds are released.

Chronic bad breath causes

There are many possible causes of halitosis but two I'd like to focus on here are for those whose chronic bad breath is due to dry mouth. In this condition the mouth lacks saliva and because saliva contains oxygen which keeps your mouth fresh and healthy the bacteria that causes bad breath are able to thrive.

The bacteria causing chronic bad breath also thrive on foods that are high in proteins such as meat, fish, dairy foods and surprisingly coffee. If your diet is high in these food types it is making the problem worse.

Coffee, whilst not a high protein food contains acids that stimulate the bacteria that causes bad breath to reproduce and creates a bitter taste and foul breath for many, most acidic foods will have the same effect.

Seeking a bad breath cure

It might be possible to effect a cure for bad breath by making a change to your diet but that might not suit everyone. An alternative is to improve the condition within the mouth by changing the environment so that the bacteria are unable to reproduce.

One solution uses stabilized chlorine dioxide that adds oxygen to the mouth using oral rinse or a mouth wash. Increasing the levels of oxygen in the mouth makes the mouth fresher and less hospitable for those bad bacteria.

Rinsing your mouth and brushing your teeth after meals can also help as this will remove plaque and freshen the mouth as well as introducing oxygen into the mouth. It can also help when brushing if you brush both your tongue and cheeks as this will stimulate the surface oxygenating as it goes.

It goes without saying that brushing the teeth first thing in the morning and last thing at night is essential if you are to cure bad breath be it mild or chronic.