Tried and True Ways to Eliminate Morning Breath
Waking up to morning breath is not a great way to start your day. Bad breath in the morning can be accompanied by a foul taste in your mouth. You might also feel like your tongue and inner cheeks are dried out.
Morning breath may be the topic of many jokes, but dealing with it daily is no laughing matter. The official name for bad breath is halitosis. Having it happen every morning is a sign that you have bacteria building up in your mouth overnight.
This annoying morning experience is avoidable once you address the reasons why it occurs.
Remove Food Debris and Biofilm
Skipping your nightly oral hygiene routine is one of the most common causes of bad breath. Certain foods naturally give off odors. Onions, garlic, and other strong-smelling foods will begin to give off more odors as they break down in your mouth.
Toothbrushing and flossing at night are effective ways to remove food and biofilm that breed bacteria. With fewer bacteria and food particles in your mouth, you’ll wake up to fresher-smelling breath.
Stay Hydrated
Saliva helps to wash away the bacterial build-up that contributes to bad breath. Make sure that you are drinking enough water during the day that your mouth doesn’t dry out at night. You can also try taking a few sips of water before you go to bed.
Limit Your Intake of Alcoholic Beverages
That nightly glass of wine may impact how your breath smells in the morning. Alcoholic beverages dry out your mouth. Limiting how much you drink helps your body to continue its normal amount of saliva production. Drinking water after you indulge in an alcoholic beverage further helps to keep your mouth hydrated.
Treat Sleep Apnea and Snoring
Mouth breathing dries out the mouth as well. Your body’s saliva production can’t keep up with the drying effects of air moving over your teeth and tongue. Bad breath in the morning is often a sign that you are snoring without realizing it. Special oral appliances can help you breathe through your nose at night.
Schedule a Dental Cleaning and Exam
Tooth decay and gum disease can contribute to bad breath. Gum disease is a bacterial infection in your mouth. As the infection grows, you may notice a foul taste in your mouth along with odor. Morning breath that lingers after you wake up could be signaling that something more is going on.
Dental cleanings remove the biofilm that builds up beneath your gum line. An exam can reveal a need for additional treatments that help your breath get back to normal.
Address Other Health Concerns
Occasionally, morning breath is caused by issues that happen elsewhere in your body. Acid reflux can cause bad breath. Acid flowing into your mouth can contribute to enamel erosion and cavities.
Sinus infections and allergies lead to bad breath when bacteria flows down your throat at night. If you have pain accompanied by morning breath, then a dental x-ray can help us see if it might be caused by a sinus or dental infection.
Talking about morning breath might seem embarrassing, but we won’t always know if you have it unless you tell us. Let your Tempe dentist know about any unusual or bothersome symptoms that you experience. There are many different solutions for bad breath, and all of them can improve your overall oral health.
