Halitosis, or bad breath, can cause embarrassment and anxiety. There are many causes of bad breath, such as health conditions, some foods and personal habits. To improve bad breath, there several simple strategies you can try. If you try these ideas and your bad breath does not improve, you should schedule an appointment with your dentist. A serious health problem could be behind your halitosis.

5 Steps to Get Rid of Bad Breath

1. Brush Correctly

Food that is decaying between your teeth and bacteria are big reasons you may have bad breath. To really get rid of your bad breath, you need to scrape your tongue with your tooth brush and to rinse your mouth to loosen food particles.

• To scrape your tongue, you can use your toothbrush, a spoon turned on its edge or a tongue cleaner. Because you need to scrap clear back to your tonsils, you may have a hard time if you gag easily.
• Flossing after every meal will also help you get rid of your bad breath. Your gums will probably bleed a little when you first start to floss and remove pieces of food that are lodged between your teeth.
• After you brush your teeth, scrape your tongue and floss, you can use a mouthwash as a follow-up. Mouthwash is great at helping to keep your mouth moist and it also prevents bad breath.

2. Moisturize Mouth Frequently

A mouth that is dry will smell bad. Because your mouth does not make as much saliva while you are asleep, your breath always smells worse in the mornings. Saliva washes away the food and bacteria that causes bad breath. It also has enzymes that can kill bacteria.

• You need to drink plenty of water to keep your mouth moist. When you take a drink, swish the water around in your mouth to loosen any food that may be stuck. Drinking a lot of water is also great for your health!
• Many people reach for mints when they have bad breath, but chewing a piece of gum is a better option. Chewing encourages saliva production and keeps your mouth moist.
• Be aware that some medicines can cause a dry mouth so you may need to talk to your doctor about changing medications.

3. Choose the Right Chewing Gum

When you chew gum, more saliva is produced, so any type of gum will help with bad breath. Some types of gum can help fight bad breath better than others.

• Choose a cinnamon flavored gum to really reduce the amount of bacteria in your mouth.
• Another choice is to choose one that is sweetened with xylitol instead of sugar. This sugar substitute works to prevent bacteria from growing in your mouth.

4. Take a Better Diet

What you eat has much to do with what your mouth smells like. To get rid of bad breath, change your diet is also helpful.

• Chewing crunchy fruits and vegetables during the day can help clean your teeth in a natural and delicious way. The crunchy snacks remove plaque and food particles as you chew.
• Eating more fresh produces each day is a healthy choice with the added benefit of helping eliminate your bad breath.
• Anyone on a low-carb diet may have a problem with halitosis because that type of diet causes the body to release ketones. Ketones have a bad smell that can be released in your breath.

5. Try Herbal Remedies

Herbs are the gifts given by the nature. Various herbal options can help relieve the bad breath.

• Drinking green tea after a meal, or sipping a cup during the day, can help get rid of bad breath. The antibacterial ingredients in the tea kill the germs that linger in your mouth.
• To add even more punch to the tea, stir it with a cinnamon stick. There are oils in the cinnamon that can help eliminate bad breath.
• Other herbs, such as parsley, dill, mint, cilantro and basil can hide your bad breath. Chewing on these herbs also gives you added health benefits because they all contain a high level of chlorophyll.

For more information on getting rid of bad breath, you can check out this video.