Best Bad Breath Mouthwash, Will It Cure Halitosis?
June 21st, 2009
Today, thanks to good oral health habits, including an alcohol-free mouthwash, people conquered problem of bad breath or halitosis… for a while. But can bad breath mouthwash cure halitosis?
With the proper understanding and care bad breath can be virtually eliminated. Mouthwashes, when used in conjunction with a regimen of effective tongue cleaning, tooth brushing, and flossing, can play a role in the treatment of bad breath (halitosis). But bad breath causes won’t be eliminated this way.
Millions of Americans are still fighting bad breath. Should they turn to mouthwash to control bad breath?
Bad breath is the common name for the medical condition known as halitosis (say: hal-uh-toe-sis). Many different things can cause halitosis — from not brushing your teeth to certain medical conditions.`
A common misperception is that bad breath arises from the stomach. While an extremely small percentage of bad breath problems may be due to stomach and digestive problems, the overwhelming majority of bad breath arises from the back of the mouth. So mouthwashes have a chance to save your mouth from bad breath.
According to background information provided by the researchers, halitosis is widespread around the world: Up to half of people in the U.S. say they have bad breath, 50-60% of people in France complain of it, and 24% of Japanese say it’s a problem.
There are so many people all around the world who would not recommend you to use a mouthwash for your bad breath but then again there are those who will tell you how a particular mouthwash helped them combat their bad breath problem.
The effectiveness of a particular mouthwash for bad breath treatment will be founded on its possessing one or both of the following characteristics: antibacterial mouthwashes (which kill bacteria that causes bad breath) and mouthwashes that neutralize volatile sulfur compounds (volatile sulfur compounds are the malodorous substances that actually cause bad breath).
So researchers found that the type of mouthwash can make a difference in either masking or eliminating bad breath.
Antibacterial mouthwahses, as well as those containing chemicals that neutralize odors, are actually very good at controlling bad breath, but mouthwashes that contain chlorhexidine can temporarily stain the teeth and tongue and reduce taste in one trial.
Also bad breath mouthwash with chlorine dioxide and zinc helped to wipe out bad smells by neutralizing them.
However, it is not only the kind of mouth wash that you use that will help you eliminate bad breath, but also how you use your mouthwash. Most dentists recommend that you use a bad breath mouthwash, one hour after brushing, so that components from the toothpaste not to prevent components of the mouthwash from bad breath elimination. Besides, a bad breath mouthwash should not be used as an alternative for flossing or brushing.
Categories: Dental Products, Oral Hygiene
I think it’s important to add that the most effective mouthwashes for temporarily relieving halitosis symptoms are the alcohol-free variety. Mouthwash that contains alcohol can lead to dry mouth - a condition known to further incite halitosis symptoms.