Tips To Keep Your Breath Jolly!

You're not hearing it first from us, but the holidays are right around the corner! Literally. With Christmas and New Years fast approaching, we know that our patients are busy preparing for family and friends gatherings. Attending holidays parties is always a fun perk of this time of year - seeing old and new friends, getting together with close and distant family. Always a great time.

But with so many opportunities to see and speak to people you don't see enough year round, we want to me sure your mouth is prepared! With so many opportunities for close talking, we wanted to share five tips to keep your breath in tip top shape. Because there's nothing worse that catching yourself with bad breath at a holiday party, or speaking to someone else who is having that issue.

So here are the things you can do to keep your breath at it's best:

1. Don't Smoke! For many reasons we ask that our patients don't smoke. It is extremely unhealthy and damaging. But one of the other side effects is the bad breath it leaves you with.

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2. Mouthwash, mouthwash, mouthwash. Anti-bacterial mouthwashes protect against bacteria in your mouth and adds an extra layer of defense against bad breath. Mouthwash always smells and tastes good, so we don't imagine that this will be a hard sell.

Image source: http://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/dental/best-mouthwash-00100000114106/page4.html?xid=df-11-25-2013

3. Brush, floss, and scrape your tongue twice daily. This is no secret. We always encourage patients to brush and floss twice a day, but often your tongue gets left out. Especially when patients are in a rush, scraping their tongue with a toothbrush seems like extra time and extra work. We're here to say that those extra few seconds can go a long way for your breath! So twice a day, scrape your tongue!

4. Avoid certain foods. While onions and garlic and notorious for giving bad breath, there are also some other sour foods that can do the same. As a rule of thumb, if it feels like the particular food your eyeing at a holiday party may leave you with a funny taste in your mouth, it probably means it will leave you with bad breath too.

Image source: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/liver-cleanse-foods/

5. Come visit us! Last and finally, make it a point to come in for cleanings often. The more that we can do a full cleaning in your mouth, the better it is for your breath, teeth, gums, tongue, and everything in between!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!