Hey there, viewers! We’ve all woken up in the morning with bad breath. Bad enough to make our
significant other jump out of bed and run away. Morning breath can give us a bad start to our
day. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid it. Let’s talk about some of them in today’s video…
Are you eating the right foods? Do you need to quit smoking? Wait,
do you need to stop drinking alcohol? We’re talking all that AND more…
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You need to brush your teeth properly.
Let’s get down to the basics. If your breath is terrible in the morning,
you’re probably not taking care of your teeth. I’m not saying you don’t
brush your teeth or anything. Chances are you’re just not doing it properly.
Studies have suggested that a large group of adults are not taking the
proper amount of time to brush. The average adult only brushes
for about 45 seconds. This doesn’t give you enough time to properly clean your teeth.
Just so you know, experts recommend you brush your teeth twice a day for 2 whole minutes.
This gives you enough time to get all the plaque and food particles. One study showed
that people who increased their brushing time from 45 seconds to 2 minutes removed 26% more plaque.
You see, there’s over 6 billion bacteria in your mouth. If you’re not removing all
the gunk from your teeth, bad bacteria will grow,
leading to things like tooth decay, gum disease, and – oh yeah – bad breath!
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There’s also such a thing as brushing too long!
Since we were little kids, our parents have told us to brush our teeth. Being as we’ve had
it drilled into our heads at this point, many of us may actually overdo it. It’s possible to
brush your teeth too much. Seriously, that “two times for two minutes” rule matters.
Have you ever heard of tooth enamel? This is the thin,
protective layer that goes over your teeth. If you’re brushing too much,
you’re going to start wearing your enamel down. Think of it as you slowly scraping the layer away.
The less enamel your teeth have to protect them, the greater your chances are of getting cavities.
This may sound strange, but if you’re having a hard time keeping track of your brushing time,
you may want to start timing yourself. Keep your phone on your bathroom sink
and set the clock to two minutes. This will allow you to perfect your brushing technique.
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And what exactly is the brushing technique?
How silly would we be if we didn’t tell you. A lot of folks, including myself, have gotten it
wrong. You first want to hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your gums. Brush each
tooth with short strokes. Move the brush back and forth along the outside surfaces of your teeth.
Make sure you’re doing this gently. Brushing too hard is only going to hurt your teeth.
Once that’s done, you should now move on to the inside of your teeth. Hold your
toothbrush vertically and start brushing up and down along the insides of your teeth.
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Make sure you’re brushing your tongue!
We spend so much time focusing on our teeth, we often forget to take care of
our tongue. This is where your morning breath problems may be coming from.
Your tongue may have certain bacteria sitting on the back. If that bacteria
isn’t cleaned on the regular, it will create a powerful odor over time.
It’s also important to know that too much bacteria on your tongue can result in gum
disease. This is an infection that damages the soft tissue and destroys the bone that
supports your teeth. If it goes without treatment, gum disease can cause you to
lose your teeth. One of the first symptoms of gum disease you’ll notice is bad breath.
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You should also learn to floss.
One of our biggest mistakes when it comes to maintaining our teeth is with flossing.
If you have problems with brushing, chances are flossing comes with its own set of challenges.
The thing is, if you want to get rid of your smelly morning breath,
you need to learn to floss properly. When you brush, you're simply taking care of the
plaque on the surface of your teeth. You’re not getting rid of the food in between your teeth.
By flossing the tiny spaces your brush can’t reach, you're reducing
the amount of bacteria in your gums. As a result, your breath won’t suffer as much.
Just as a general rule, you should floss once every day. It takes about
4 -12 hours for bacteria to develop, so flossing more than once in a day
is kind of pointless. The only time it’s acceptable to floss outside of your daily
schedule is when you have an annoying piece of food stuck in your teeth.
Forgetting to floss can result in a lot more than gross breath. The
gunk in your teeth can lead to tartar buildup, which only helps gum disease.
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Let’s switch over to your diet.
It’s not just your personal hygiene that’s making your breath smell. The foods you
eat are also contributing to morning breath. There are certain snacks that cause your mouth
to dry up. This reduces the flow of saliva, and allows bacteria to build up overnight.
If you’re looking to avoid that morning odor, you need to cut back on specific foods.
I’m talking about things like onions, garlic, and tuna. I doubt you’re eating a
whole serving of garlic before going to bed, but if you’re craving a late night snack,
you may want to avoid having leftovers from dinner that were cooked with garlic.
Your partner won’t be thanking you in the morning when they wake up beside you.
You also need to watch your dairy intake. It’s normal for people to drink a glass of
warm milk before hitting the pillow. While this does have its benefits,
the inside of your mouth is going to hate you. Dairy contains amino acids that produce
sulfur compounds once they mix with oral bacteria. This will make your breath stink!
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Bad breath is also linked to gastrointestinal reflux.
Also known as acid reflux, gastrointestinal reflux is the backward flow of stomach acid
into your esophagus. If the acid washes back up while you’re asleep,
you may wake up with an unpleasant odor coming from your mouth.
If you’re looking to avoid acid reflux, there are a few things you can do. The first is to
sleep on your left side rather than your right. While more research needs to be done as to why,
experts believe it’s because the esophagus enters the right side of the stomach,
making it much more uncomfortable if you sleep on your right.
Another tip for people with acid reflux is to eat dinner at an earlier time.
Try having your last meal at least 3 hours before going to bed. Laying horizontally in
bed makes it much harder for your food to digest. This will make it much harder for
your stomach acid to enter back into your esophagus, saving you from bad breath.
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You should also quit smoking!
I don’t really need to tell you this, but smoking is one of the worst things for your
health. Without getting into all the health hazards, smoking is awful for your breath.
The more cigarettes you smoke in a day, the worse your breath will be when you wake up.
Tobacco is another thing that dries your mouth out, allowing bad bacteria to flourish as you
sleep. The smoke left in your lungs will also lead to chemicals mixing in with your saliva. This
blend will only make your breath more powerful in the morning. The smell will be horrific.
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Alcohol is something else that dries your mouth.
Just relax, party people. I’m not telling you to stop drinking booze altogether. You just need to
cut back if you’re going to save your breath. A long night of drinking can leave you dehydrated.
This reduces your production of saliva. Overnight, the lack of saliva will make your mouth dry.
The morning after a summer bender is miserable enough. If you can avoid smelly breath,
do it by having fewer drinks, and drinking water to stay hydrated.
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Now, no matter how many of these tips you follow, you’re going to get bad breath
every now and then. It’s just part of life. You sometimes won’t even realize
until somebody tells you. Care to learn more? Let’s keep the conversation going
with a couple more videos, shall we? Here’s what you need to know…
Check out 9 Gut Healthy Drinks That Improve Digestion and Reduce Inflammation. Or how
about 11 Natural Remedies That Reduce Acid Reflux?
Go ahead, click one. Or better yet, watch both, and learn more about how to improve
your digestion. What’s your funniest morning breath story? Let us know in the comments below…