I have a problem with bad breath. How can I make it sweeter?

To effectively treat bad breath we need to understand what causes bad breath in the first place. Bad breath is the waste product of the bacteria which breaks down proteins for our metabolism. These waste products include smelly sulphur compounds that saturate the saliva, causing a bad taste; or evaporate in the mouth air, resulting in bad breath.

The bacteria invade the biofilms or coatings that build up daily on the tongue surface, teeth and gum pockets, and also in the back of the throat and nasal passages. As all these areas are connected, once a person has a case of chronic bad breath or halitosis (as it is medically known) all the biofilms need to be treated for any success to occur.

For people with chronic bad breath or those who just want to freshen their breath, there are three simple and proven steps:

• Use mouth probiotics, such as Kforce, to fight the bacteria that cause bad breath – harness the power of specialist mouth probiotics to maintain levels of fresh breath throughout the day.
• Remove the coatings where the halitosis bacteria will live – this includes coatings that build up on the teeth, between teeth, on the back of tongue and nasal passages. What this will involve is regular, daily brushing and flossing of the teeth and also cleaning the tongue.
• Avoid lifestyle choices that can trigger the growth of bacteria – bad breath bacteria thrive in acid and dry mouth conditions, so things that stimulate these environment such as diet or sports drinks, coffee, smoking and alcohol and stress should be avoided.

New treatments which harness the benefits of probiotics – good bacteria – are now being used to effectively treat bad breath. Rather than masking unpleasant odours and taste associated with bad breath, probiotic treatments fight the bacteria that cause bad breath.

Treatments such as Breeze and KForce range of products are available from the Dr Speiser's Australian Breath Clinic or online from www.breezecare.com.au offer a natural and effective solution to bad breath.

For further information visit www.breezecare.com.au or contact the Dr Speiser's Australian Breath Clinic on 1300 653 335.

Response attributed to Dr Geoffrey Speiser, Director, Dr Speiser's Australian Breath Clinic