Having bad breath can make you really self-conscious. Thus, if you are struggling with your breath, you will want to find a solution fast so that you can get back to enjoying your life. Freshening your breath, for the most part, means ridding your mouth of those bacteria that cause bad breath. Thus, your Arlington dentist, Dr. Quinn Smith, recommends attending a dental cleaning if brushing and flossing are not working to keep your breath fresh. Harmful oral bacteria are able to attach themselves to teeth by forming plaque, a clear, sticky substance. You can remove plaque with a toothbrush or dental floss to remove these bacteria. However, if plaque is allowed to linger on teeth for 48 hours, it will harden into tartar, which cannot be removed with a toothbrush and floss. Thus, if you are unable to achieve fresh breath, tartar could be the cause, meaning that you should attend a dental cleaning so that a hygienist can remove it from your teeth with special dental instruments.
Common Breath-Freshening Mistakes
In attempting to freshen their breath, many people opt for the ineffective methods and succeed in only temporarily banishing bad breath. Several of these approaches are listed below.
1. Choosing a mint. Mints may temporarily mask bad breath. However, many of them contain sugar, which will actually feed the bacteria responsible for bad breath rather than eliminate them.
2. Chewing gum. Just as with mints, many gums contain sugar, which will feed bacteria. However, chewing sugar-free gum does have some merit as it will stimulate saliva production, saliva having bacteria-fighting properties
3. Using a breath spray. Breath sprays succeed only in temporarily covering up bad breath. The source of the problem will still remain once the spray wears off.
Dental Cleanings in Arlington
Your Arlington dentist, Dr. Smith, welcomes patients of all ages. During a dental cleaning, Dr. Smith will examine your mouth for a variety of oral health problems. Should he find any troubling symptoms, Dr. Smith will discuss your treatment options with you as well as possible preventive measures you may take to preserve your oral health. A big believer, in patient education, Dr. Smith strives to keep his patients informed so that they can maintain healthy mouths.
About Dr. Quinn Smith: Dr. Quinn Smith is a respected and experienced family dentist in Arlington TX. He takes a patient-first approach that starts from the moment patients enter the dental office and offers a three-year guarantee on all dental work. New patients can schedule an appointment or a consultation with Dr. Smith by calling 972-262-5111.
