Tired of waking up every morning with a swamp in your mouth? Morning breath is extremely common, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to reduce morning breath and improve halitosis as a whole.
What Causes Morning Breath?
The two main culprits behind morning breath are dry mouth and poor oral hygiene. Saliva helps clear out the bacteria in your mouth that causes bad breath. At night, saliva production goes down, which means that the bacteria has longer to incubate. This problem may be exacerbated by sleeping with your mouth open.
If you do not brush your teeth or tongue before bed, you’re not taking care of that bacteria. It’s going to sit in your mouth all night long, and you’ll inevitably wake up with bad breath.
Certain foods can increase your risk of morning breath, especially when eaten shortly before bed. Smoking and using tobacco products can increase your oral health risks and halitosis, as can gastrointestinal reflex (GERD). Some of these issues may be beyond your control, but most can be treated at the source.
How to Treat Morning Breath
To treat morning breath, you first need to determine what’s causing it. Did you switch to a new medication that has made your dry mouth and morning breath worse? Do you eat after brushing your teeth at night? Do you skip nighttime brushing altogether and wait until morning? Think about what may be causing your morning breath, and then find a coordinating solution to address it.
Proven Steps to Prevent Morning Breath
If you’re tired of dealing with bad breath when you wake up, try these morning breath prevention tips:
- Stay hydrated. Drink water throughout the day, including the hours leading up to bedtime. This will reduce the risk of dry mouth – a leading cause of morning breath.
- Evaluate your daily medications. If you take a medicine that causes dry mouth, talk to your doctor about potential alternatives. That may not be an option, but it is worth asking about.
- Brush twice a day and floss at least once. Good oral hygiene will keep bad breath and bacteria to a minimum.
- Reduce or eliminate tobacco use. This may not happen overnight, but removing tobacco products from your life will improve your overall oral health.
- Avoid coffee and strong-smelling foods at night. If you do consume these products, make sure to brush your teeth and tongue before bed.
- Use a tongue scraper or brush your tongue. This will cut down on the bacteria that gets trapped on the surface of your tongue.
- See your dentist regularly for professional teeth cleaning. You should get a professional cleaning at least twice a year to reduce plaque and tartar buildup.
- Take care of decaying teeth in your smile. This can prevent pain, improve breath and prevent future decay.
Clinton Dental Center offers comprehensive dentistry services, including family dentistry, teeth cleaning, pediatric dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, and more. To schedule an appointment to conquer your morning breath, give us a call at (586) 949-5363.
