Morning Breath- YUCK!

Oh no, morning breath!

Do you ever wake up in the morning and immediately cover your mouth? To some degree, everyone has morning breath. The reason being is because your mouth dries out when you sleep causing odor-producing bacteria to increase.  During the day, bacteria is still at work to break down all the chemicals, protein and amino acids left behind from food but your own saliva is more present to help wash away the bacteria. When we fall asleep, your saliva production takes a rest also which causes the smelly-bacteria to run wild and the grand unveiling of morning breath.

However, if you have a toothache associated with bad breath, this could be caused by other factors. Bad breath has nothing to do with age, but bacteria that causes bad breath may have several health implications. Having bad breath are the first signs of periodontal issues, which has been proven to be involved with diabetes and heart disease.  Make sure you always schedule your dental teeth cleanings at least every 6 months so that periodontal disease can be detected early enough.

So, how do we treat or get rid of morning breath? Unfortunately, there isn’t a foolproof prevention for it but there are some things you can do to help reduce it. When you brush, go directly to bed. Do not eat or drink anything afterwards so you are not leaving anything behind. Make sure you always brush your tongue, including the back of your tongue because statistics say 85% of bad breath comes from the tongue. Invest into a tongue scraper to help clean your tongue thoroughly and floss because brushing along will not remove all the food partials stuck in between your teeth. 

Our Marietta Dentists, Kirk Kimmerling DDS, Suzanna Aguilera DMD, and Garrick McGrath DMD invite you to learn more about bad breath prevention, please contact our office at 770-423-4900 to schedule your next dental cleaning appointment.