Here is how you can stop your bad breath - my years of work
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:19 pm
I guess this forum makes it easier to be honest and open about this problem 
I am 35 years old. I first learned I had really bad breath when I was probably 12 years old and people would back off when I was speaking.
It was probably 10+ years later that I realized how many first dates never went further than that, how many relationships ended and how much my working life was affected by bad breath. It was depressing.
I've spent years trying to solve this problem and I've done everything. I've bought every product, went to lots of dentists, bought online books that claimed they would solve the problem.
I have a solution that works.
Basically, in my case (and I think in most others for people on here), I just have a really high bacteria level and it gets everwhere. It's on my tongue, in between my teeth, in my gums, everywhere. And stinks. It's so bad that if I wake up and don't brush my teeth, even someone sitting in the back seat of my car would be gagging.
I can go from that level of stench to 1" away from my girlfriend whispering pillow talk and there is no smell, NONE.
I also have oily skin... so I need to take a shower each day or my hair is all nasty and matted and I feel gross. Some people have dry skin and take a shower ever 3 days without problems. We're all different, and I realize that my mouth "chemistry" isn't the same as everyone else's. Some people can just brush their teeth once a day and they're good. I am not one of those people.
So here is how I can go from "breath so bad that it actually evacuates a small room" to "I'll happily breathe right in Jessica Alba's face and not even think twice about it". It's a pain in the butt to do this every day, but it doesn't take long and it's worth it.
Step 1: scrape tongue thoroughly. You HAVE to use a good scraper. I've tried them all - my favorite is made by Ora Sweet. It's "sharp", so you really feel it scraping. The ones I bought in CVS just glided over my tongue and didn't really do anything. You need to really feel it digging in. I bought a 10 pack a long time ago and they stay sharp forever, except I've broken a few from dropping them (they are hard plastic and can shatter if they hit a hard tile floor). You can get them from lots of online sources - they are colored transparent acrylic and have a little ball in the handle below the scraping part. They are cheap. I think that a good thorough scraping removes the surface goo that smells bad and it opens up the areas to let the next steps work better.
Step 2: Flossing. I hate flossing, but I do it every day. I use OralB dental tape because it's thin so it can get deeper in between my gums and teeth. But I've also used other stuff - haven't found a huge difference.
Step 3: Waterpik. THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY TO CURE BAD BREATH. You have nasty gooey stinky stuff all in your mouth, between your teeth, in your gums. Flossing opens up the areas where it collects, but it doesn't remove it - just moves it around. The waterpik actually removes it. I've tried ALL the waterpiks made. The cordless one is useless and the reservoir too small. The most expensive "Ultra" model with the dial for water pressure is junk - not powerful enough (it's designed to be quieter) and the reservoir is too small. The best is the old fashioned WP65. Forget the tongue cleaning attachment it comes with, it's junk. I pour about 1/2 to 3/4" of regular 3% Peroxide into the tank, then I pour in some Scope (just for flavor/smell) then I fill it up with lukewarm water. Turn it on and use it until the tank is drained. I put the tip right against my gumline and I slowly move along every area and pause for a second in between each tooth, moving the handle around to get the water blasting in different angles. I also make sure to get behind my wisdom teeth. This removes 99% of the bad breath stuff.
Step 4: Brush. NOW it is time to brush. I use one of those motorized toothbrushes and Crest whitening cinnamon. The crest has sort of a gritty abrasive texture that seems to help scrub a little, or at least feels like it. I also have a Sonicare electric brush which is *awesome*. I only don't use it more because I don't have an outlet in the bathroom.
Step 5: Mouthwash. This is a VERY important step! You cleaned your teeth very well, but on the very back of your tongue and your tonsils, you still have nasty smelling goop. The tongue scraper does not remove 100%, but we got 90% of it - now time to get the rest and our tonsils. I mix 50/50 peroxide and Scope whitening. I gargle twice. The first time I swish it all around my mouth, using my cheeks to force it between my teeth, then I gargle with it. I do the above for at least 30+ seconds. Then I spit it out and DO NOT RINSE. Your mouth will be fizzing a bit from the peroxide. Then I gargle again with the same mixture... this time I mostly just gargle, only taking breaks to swish it around my mouth to breathe. I do this also for 30+ seconds, a minute is better.
Then spit it out.
Your breath is clean and fresh. Your teeth should feel "squeaky clean". The waterpik is a bit painful the first few times, but now I run it full blast and I wish it went higher.
Using the above, I can clean my mouth and then go to a party all day and no problem, or be at work in a meeting and no problem.
The only caveat is this:
Bad breath doesn't happen instantly. The stuff builds up in your mouth over time. If I didn't brush my teeth at all for a day, the next day - the above would work, but after a few hours I would have slight bad breath, because it's like you are cleaning 90% of the bad breath every time... so if you keep up with it, you keep the nasty stuff at a low level. But if you let it slide for a few days and just do brush+floss, it comes back and it takes a day or two of the above to get you perfect. It's like showering - it you didn't shower for a week, one shower may not make you perfectly clean, but if you do it every day, you'll always be clean.
I also have "tonsil stones". It's probably medically bad to do this, but I stick my finger back there and poke around until I get them out. I have noticed that a tonsil stone covered in saliva doesn't smell.. it's when they are dry they stink. So I actually don't think they are the major cause of bad breath unless your mouth is really totally dried out. But I have noticed that the dryer my mouth, the worse it smells... so I actually think tonsil stones are just an accumulation of hardened "stuff" that is in your mouth making your breath sink. It's in your saliva, which collects in the recesses of your tonsils and hardens. Makes sense that this is what it is.
Anyway, that regimen helps me. It also leads to very healthy teeth and gums. I never get cavities. And the best part is when someone gets up close and talks to me, I no longer turn away when I talk, or cover my mouth like I am scratching my nose when I talk, or try to talk softly so I am not breathing much, etc. I can lie in bed with my girlfriend with our noses touching and speak and not even think twice about it. My ex-GF actually said one of the things she liked about me is I had great breath. I almost died. You guys know that receiving such a compliment is like a blind man regaining his sight. It literally brought my to tears.
I do not know why I have to clean my mouth so rigorously while others can just brush once a day - and it sucks to have to go through the above. But at least I have beaten my problem. When I travel, I always bring my waterpik with me. If I am ever caught without it, I just buy a bottle of peroxide (it's available worldwide) and rinse/gargle with it. The peroxide kills the goop in your mouth, and the waterpik allows it to get into all the little hidden areas. That, and cleaning the tongue carefully are 90% of the problem. Brushing just removes the surface plaque and stinky goop from the outside of your teeth. it helps, but it's like putting a band aid on a mising finger
I am 35 years old. I first learned I had really bad breath when I was probably 12 years old and people would back off when I was speaking.
It was probably 10+ years later that I realized how many first dates never went further than that, how many relationships ended and how much my working life was affected by bad breath. It was depressing.
I've spent years trying to solve this problem and I've done everything. I've bought every product, went to lots of dentists, bought online books that claimed they would solve the problem.
I have a solution that works.
Basically, in my case (and I think in most others for people on here), I just have a really high bacteria level and it gets everwhere. It's on my tongue, in between my teeth, in my gums, everywhere. And stinks. It's so bad that if I wake up and don't brush my teeth, even someone sitting in the back seat of my car would be gagging.
I can go from that level of stench to 1" away from my girlfriend whispering pillow talk and there is no smell, NONE.
I also have oily skin... so I need to take a shower each day or my hair is all nasty and matted and I feel gross. Some people have dry skin and take a shower ever 3 days without problems. We're all different, and I realize that my mouth "chemistry" isn't the same as everyone else's. Some people can just brush their teeth once a day and they're good. I am not one of those people.
So here is how I can go from "breath so bad that it actually evacuates a small room" to "I'll happily breathe right in Jessica Alba's face and not even think twice about it". It's a pain in the butt to do this every day, but it doesn't take long and it's worth it.
Step 1: scrape tongue thoroughly. You HAVE to use a good scraper. I've tried them all - my favorite is made by Ora Sweet. It's "sharp", so you really feel it scraping. The ones I bought in CVS just glided over my tongue and didn't really do anything. You need to really feel it digging in. I bought a 10 pack a long time ago and they stay sharp forever, except I've broken a few from dropping them (they are hard plastic and can shatter if they hit a hard tile floor). You can get them from lots of online sources - they are colored transparent acrylic and have a little ball in the handle below the scraping part. They are cheap. I think that a good thorough scraping removes the surface goo that smells bad and it opens up the areas to let the next steps work better.
Step 2: Flossing. I hate flossing, but I do it every day. I use OralB dental tape because it's thin so it can get deeper in between my gums and teeth. But I've also used other stuff - haven't found a huge difference.
Step 3: Waterpik. THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY TO CURE BAD BREATH. You have nasty gooey stinky stuff all in your mouth, between your teeth, in your gums. Flossing opens up the areas where it collects, but it doesn't remove it - just moves it around. The waterpik actually removes it. I've tried ALL the waterpiks made. The cordless one is useless and the reservoir too small. The most expensive "Ultra" model with the dial for water pressure is junk - not powerful enough (it's designed to be quieter) and the reservoir is too small. The best is the old fashioned WP65. Forget the tongue cleaning attachment it comes with, it's junk. I pour about 1/2 to 3/4" of regular 3% Peroxide into the tank, then I pour in some Scope (just for flavor/smell) then I fill it up with lukewarm water. Turn it on and use it until the tank is drained. I put the tip right against my gumline and I slowly move along every area and pause for a second in between each tooth, moving the handle around to get the water blasting in different angles. I also make sure to get behind my wisdom teeth. This removes 99% of the bad breath stuff.
Step 4: Brush. NOW it is time to brush. I use one of those motorized toothbrushes and Crest whitening cinnamon. The crest has sort of a gritty abrasive texture that seems to help scrub a little, or at least feels like it. I also have a Sonicare electric brush which is *awesome*. I only don't use it more because I don't have an outlet in the bathroom.
Step 5: Mouthwash. This is a VERY important step! You cleaned your teeth very well, but on the very back of your tongue and your tonsils, you still have nasty smelling goop. The tongue scraper does not remove 100%, but we got 90% of it - now time to get the rest and our tonsils. I mix 50/50 peroxide and Scope whitening. I gargle twice. The first time I swish it all around my mouth, using my cheeks to force it between my teeth, then I gargle with it. I do the above for at least 30+ seconds. Then I spit it out and DO NOT RINSE. Your mouth will be fizzing a bit from the peroxide. Then I gargle again with the same mixture... this time I mostly just gargle, only taking breaks to swish it around my mouth to breathe. I do this also for 30+ seconds, a minute is better.
Then spit it out.
Your breath is clean and fresh. Your teeth should feel "squeaky clean". The waterpik is a bit painful the first few times, but now I run it full blast and I wish it went higher.
Using the above, I can clean my mouth and then go to a party all day and no problem, or be at work in a meeting and no problem.
The only caveat is this:
Bad breath doesn't happen instantly. The stuff builds up in your mouth over time. If I didn't brush my teeth at all for a day, the next day - the above would work, but after a few hours I would have slight bad breath, because it's like you are cleaning 90% of the bad breath every time... so if you keep up with it, you keep the nasty stuff at a low level. But if you let it slide for a few days and just do brush+floss, it comes back and it takes a day or two of the above to get you perfect. It's like showering - it you didn't shower for a week, one shower may not make you perfectly clean, but if you do it every day, you'll always be clean.
I also have "tonsil stones". It's probably medically bad to do this, but I stick my finger back there and poke around until I get them out. I have noticed that a tonsil stone covered in saliva doesn't smell.. it's when they are dry they stink. So I actually don't think they are the major cause of bad breath unless your mouth is really totally dried out. But I have noticed that the dryer my mouth, the worse it smells... so I actually think tonsil stones are just an accumulation of hardened "stuff" that is in your mouth making your breath sink. It's in your saliva, which collects in the recesses of your tonsils and hardens. Makes sense that this is what it is.
Anyway, that regimen helps me. It also leads to very healthy teeth and gums. I never get cavities. And the best part is when someone gets up close and talks to me, I no longer turn away when I talk, or cover my mouth like I am scratching my nose when I talk, or try to talk softly so I am not breathing much, etc. I can lie in bed with my girlfriend with our noses touching and speak and not even think twice about it. My ex-GF actually said one of the things she liked about me is I had great breath. I almost died. You guys know that receiving such a compliment is like a blind man regaining his sight. It literally brought my to tears.
I do not know why I have to clean my mouth so rigorously while others can just brush once a day - and it sucks to have to go through the above. But at least I have beaten my problem. When I travel, I always bring my waterpik with me. If I am ever caught without it, I just buy a bottle of peroxide (it's available worldwide) and rinse/gargle with it. The peroxide kills the goop in your mouth, and the waterpik allows it to get into all the little hidden areas. That, and cleaning the tongue carefully are 90% of the problem. Brushing just removes the surface plaque and stinky goop from the outside of your teeth. it helps, but it's like putting a band aid on a mising finger
been there.. done all that ... YAWN ..op.. still bb .