Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

nicc wrote:I suppose you brush your gums while irrigating with the brush-tip (second step of your routine), right?

Yes, correct. I use the small brush tip to gently brush and irrigate along the tooth/gumline and between adjacent teeth.

nicc wrote:Second question is about when you can't use your irrigator for a couple of days. I'm sure you can sense the difference within a short time but I'm also positive about your breath still maintaining a good 'performance' over the time, am I right?

Yes, I can sense a return of BB after stopping the irrigation; however, good breath returns after resuming the routine.

about the warm water: do you get it directly from the sink or you boil cold water in a kettle or something ? thanks

nicc wrote:about the warm water: do you get it directly from the sink or you boil cold water in a kettle or something ? thanks

Hello nicc,

I use warm, drinking water straight from the sink faucet. The warm temperature is for comfort during use. I do not take any special measures to sterilize the water.

HI searching,
Thanks for the patience I should receive the waterpik in a couple of days. Anyway I'm getting a good relief by simply putting pure H.P. on the tongue after the brush. I know it can be a bit corrosive.

You probably are aware of articles like this http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... rbugs.html,
I'm curious to know if you have ever tried a triclosan free period and what were the results.

Cheers!

Consider that when you perform these procedures for a few days and think that your breath has gotten worse or has developed into a different smell... that you are simply more sensitive to the smell, and that could be a good thing. Having constant bacteria numbs and desensitizes us, and we can't taste or smell odors as they are. I like to think that after consistent irrigation routine, a very controlled diet that sacrifices gluten, sugar, what, or what have you (dependent on your particular condition), your mouth is indeed becomming cleaner, and you are more aware of deeper odors coming from deeper within. So keep at it, do not slip, do not give up at this point, and believe that eventually you'll get down to the next layer.

Getting the mouth fresh is step one. Controlling the odors before they get to the mouth might be step two, but unless you have that mouth completely clean, you're unable to judge properly the source of the odor.

I have been in this cycle for years, getting the mouth fresh, then giving up, or letting myself down due to other circumstances in my life, I'll allow myself a cheat here or there. It is a mistake. You have to be diligent, and stick to whatever routine you've chosen, be careful not to dismiss your routine because the results weren't immediate 100% fresh oral or internal odor. I've been 25% cleaner plenty of times, only to ruin it by giving up or trying something new.

If you were cleaning a trash bin, surely after the first layer of gunk being removed, it would emit a different deeper smell. You would proceed to clean deeper, and the smell would still be there. Even after the bin is shiny and spotless, there would be a whiff of something unpleasant. Ultimately, until you have been through the process of filling the bin with clean, fresh product as a routine, perhaps over time, you might at least approach a respectable odor, where you can feel better about yourself, eliminate some of the anxiety and mental aspect of having this issue, regardless of whether you're not 100% odor free.

nicc wrote:I'm curious to know if you have ever tried a triclosan free period and what were the results.

Hello nicc,

Yes, I've tried a triclosan-free period with good results. I often brush with a dry mixture of 50% baking soda and 50% table salt. I do, however, brush at least once daily with ordinary fluoride-containing toothpaste attempting to remineralize my teeth to avoid discomfort when eating or drinking anything that is very cold.

Best wishes for success in finding a routine that helps you.

i have started irrigating beneath my gum line by using hydrogen peroxide as you mentioned (but regular toothpaste). i use a hydrofloss machine and irrigate once using water and the regular hydrofloss tips on the highest setting. then i use the hydrofloss pocket pal tip (the kind with the rubber ends) to deliver the hydrogen peroxide beneath the gum line on setting #5 (because the instructions that came with my tips said not to put it above 5.. it seems really gentle though since i am used to a more powerful stream against my gums).

anyway, i do this at night after brushing and flossing normally. afterwards, i rinse with either smartmouth (which i find not working very well lately) or chlorhexidine (which i use 2 days a week). i find that in the morning, after i brush, my bb goes away, even without using any rinses. it returns after a few hours though, especially after eating. however, i find if i use the hydrofloss with hydrogen peroxide during the day as well, then rinse with chlorhexidine after, i am bb free for hours. it often starts to return after eating though. not sure why that is...

anyway, i think my bb is due to bacteria imbalance in the mouth (probably my tongue), possible PND (how do we know for sure we have this??), as well as periodontal disease. i think this irrigation method works for those who have it due to gum problems.. so go to your dentist for a checkup to see if that is even an issue for you. if it is, that is a likely contributor to the problem, and irrigation should help. if that is not the source of your bb, i doubt this will help very much.

my next steps will be trying to irrigate my sinuses (with a neti pot) in case that helps with PND.

btw, i kissed someone recently that had the nicest breath. i'm really intrigued by people whose breath isn't neutral but actually tastes/smells good. where in the hell does that come from?? i wonder if they notice their breath not being neutral and they think it's a bad thing... but i've had this experience before with some others whose breath i've smelled and it was nicer than neutral. how odd. lucky bastards.

I've started too and so far so good, it's a nice and fresh feeling in the mouth after the irrigation. I'm basically following the Searching routine without Triclosan. The large white brush-tip on the tongue wipes off that terrible white bio-film and I can tell the difference... I can finally observe my natural red/pink color on the tongue.
I tend to irrigate all the mirror on the sink as in certain positions it's hard to keep the mouth full close, at the end of the routine I use Listerine mouthwash just to give it a try in combinaton with the irrigator, I'm going to stop soon anyway as I quite hate Listerine, too strong...

As for the BB I can certainly say that I'm feeling very good and confident, I've never had a very severe BB but you know how even a mild BB is annoying. I'm going to keep posting updates on my routine and sensations.
Just to give an idea, I ate salmon last night, normally I would have felt it in the mouth hours after brushing and gargle, after the routine I was fine.

Hi guys,

Any update on this?

I'm decided to buy a waterpik on monday, but here it costs 200 dollars, so i don't want to throw my money away,

Looking forward to hear from you!

still doing good. it's a powerful tool to eliminate the biofilm from teeth and tounge. just remember that the irrigator itself will hardly keep you free from BB as you probably might need an antibacterical (Search uses triclosan, I'm using Listerine) to use with at the same time.
200 $ is quite expensive, have you had a look at amazon?

just wanted to say thanks to searching because the irrigation method with peroxide really helps me (along with the other stuff i do)

i recommend the hydrofloss. it cost me about $90 from my dentist. it is different from other oral irrigators because it is supposed to deliver negative ions (whatever that means!) while you use it and help prevent plaque buildup (which is like the biofilm, right?)

anyway, as for rinses, i recommend dioxi rinse (active chlorine dioxide). i tried it and like it so far and find that it is the most effective one i have ever tried aside from chlorhexidine (i have tried the regular drugstore brands like listerine (useless), biotene, smartmouth, closys, breath rx). the only annoying thing about it is you have to mix the 2 solutions so it makes it not very good for travelling or taking with you when you are out and about (i usually like to have a small bottle of rinse with me when out).

i was lazy the past 2 days so haven't irrigated and notice my bb is worse. it may be because i am about to get my period though (bb always seems worse at this time and nothing helps that much).

btw, this thread should be made into a sticky because it seems like it has helped a few of us.

chlorine dioxide is in Retardex as well (more common in UK), by the way Listerine is quite effective on me. at least I can find it everywhere, the other products are not common in my area and must be ordered on internet.
needless to say these are treatments for the symptoms but they don't go to the root of the problem.

as for the irrigator, another good thing is that my teeth are getting back to their natural white it seems.

Ruch do you know its quite common for BB to worsen for women during their period. I've read that this is due to the fact that gums swell during this time, indicating that it may connected to a problem with the gums. The fact that the gum irrigation is helping you is further proof that the underlying cause of your BB is gum related.

I've also read that this increased odour is also due to increased sloughing of cells throughout the body (not just inside the uterus) and this will include your tongue surface and cheeks etc which will likely worsen any breath situation.

I've added a step to this routine where I've:

1. modified a standard irrigation tip,
2. by cutting off the jet tip to slow the water velocity, but preserve the high water flow rate, and
3. pressed a rubber, medicine-dropper bulb over the cut irrigation tip after cutting a hole, about one-eighth inch in diameter, in the dropper bulb top to allow the water flow to exit.



I use this modified tip, with the oral irrigator, to flush the tonsils and tonsil area. I dissolve/mix about 1/2 teaspoon total of salt and baking soda into about 700 mls. of warm irrigation water. The rubber-dropper tip softens direct contact with the tonsils and enables me to gently probe and flush debris from the general area and tonsil crypts more effectively than earlier methods.