Bad breath may have many causes—some of which are unknown.  One proven trigger of bad breath is from dry tissues inside the mouth.  Bacteria living inside the mouth are washed away or kept at lower levels thanks to saliva (spit) that keeps the mouth moist and cleanses away bacteria.

When the tissues of the mouth become dry dead skin cells inside the mouth are allowed to collect in higher amounts and they begin to decompose which leads to bad breath. Another cause of bad breath lays directly in the bacteria themselves.

Without saliva, the amount of oxygen that is available to the tissues in the mouth is reduced.  This can make a very happy home for bacteria where they thrive and release their sulfur compounds—these sulfur compounds result in bad breath.

Alcohol has long been used in medical settings to dry narrow test tubes that cannot be reached with other tools.  Allowing the alcohol to evaporate removes moisture from the surface that it is touching.  The same bears true for the tissues inside the mouth.  Consuming an alcoholic drink will eventually dry out the tissues inside the mouth allowing dead skin cells and bacteria to increase.

Another hidden culprit behind bad breath is mouthwash.  As surprising as it may be, mouthwash often contains high amounts of alcohol and will only make improve a case of  bad breath temporarily and then it will return worse than it began.  Reading labels on all oral care products and choosing one without alcohol is a wise first step to avoiding this common mistake.

The natural balance inside our mouth can be delicate and hard to maintain without the proper tools.  Staying away from synthetic chemicals and additives that disrupt nature’s balance in our bodies is always beneficial to helping us stay at peak performance.