Combating Halitosis (Bad Breath) is not as simple as using a mouthwash each day. You need to focus on cleaning your teeth, your tongue and rising your mouth with a decent mouthwash to pro-long the effect in your mouth and not to simply cure it. We have discussed how to clean your teeth here, your tongue here but in this section we’re looking at the best mouthwashes to really clean your mouth.
Rather than just pick a few companies websites, look at what they say it the best mouthwash and pick one, we’re going to do things slightly differently and start by looking at what ingredients you actually need to combat bad breath, and then which mouthwash is the best based on the ingredients they contain which have been medical proved to treat halitosis (Bad Breath).
What I would say, the best mouthwash for bad breath is typically not the one with the highest concentration of one specific compound, and not the most well known on the market, but the one that contains a combination on ingredients to combat bad breath from different angles.
What Are We Looking For In The Best Mouthwash
The best mouthwash does not need to be able to remove bacteria from the mouth as we have already done that through brushing teeth and scraping the tongue. What it needs to do is keep the bacteria from forming again.
If you want to stop bad breath you need to focus reducing the concentration of bacteria in your mouth as it’s this bacteria that lives off your tongue creating volatile sulfur compounds as a by product which is where the smell comes from in bad breath. You need to focus on mouthwash that contains the following:
Anti-bacterial Agents – It’s the anaerobic bacteria living on your tongue that creates the oder cause in bad breath. The best mouthwash will contain antibacterial agents such as antibacterials chlorhexidine, cetylpyridinium chloride and/or triclosan which have been designed to kill and stop the spread of bacteria living on your tongue.
VSC’s (volatile sulfur compounds) – are waste product from the bacteria that lives on your tongue. Mouthwash that contains Chlorine dioxide (sodium chlorite) and zinc compounds effectively stop any remaining bacteria on your tongue from Fermenting and producing the terrible smell of halitosis.
What’s The Best Mouthwash?
Generally the best mouthwashes to stop halitosis are those that do not take a direct approach and focus on one specific area, but those that take the combination approach. This means that users need to select a mouthwash that contains both Antibacterial and VSC ingredients
How To Use Mouthwash?
Mouthwash needs to be used after you have rinsed your mouth, brushed your teeth, flossed and scraped your tongue as it’s difficult for a mouthwash to penetrate plaque that has built up around your teeth or bacteria on your ton.
If you have brushed your teeth flossed your gums and scraped your tongue and plaque and bacteria build up will be reduced and what ever remains will be exposed and therefore more vulnerable to mouthwash that and the chemicals within it.
It’s also a great idea to gargle making an “AAAHHH” sound as this will encourage the tongue to be extended outwards meaning the mouthwash can have great contact with the base of the tongue where the majority of bacteria forms.
Please note, all mouthwash should be spat out after use, however don’t worry about washing your mouth out.
Other Ways to reduce Halatosis
Besides using mouthwash, studies have shown that taking a combination approach to combating Halitosis has the most effect. This means focusing on using the following:
Toothpaste – with tricolsan or stannous fluoride to reduce bacteria growing in your mouth (Colgate Total)
Breath mints – that contain volatile sulfur compounds such as chlorine dioxide, sodium chlorite, and zinc. Breath mints and lozenges will also help to stimulate saliva which helps to neutralise the smelyy volatile soulful compounds that cause bad breath.
Gum – Very similar to the reason above. The action of chewing creates silva which will helps to wash away VSC, however make sure its a sugar-free chewing gum otherwise you may see a short-term benefit, but long term, the sugar within the gum just adds fuel to the bacteria growing in your mouth.