Has wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic made you suddenly realize you have bad breath? While you race for a mint, it might help to know the top six reasons why your breath smells bad in the first place and what you can do about it.

  1. Incorrectly brushing – leaving food in between your teeth allows bacteria to break down the food and produce bad smelling gases.
  2. You ate something smelly – foods like onions, spicy foods, coffee, garlic, fish, eggs release sulfides. Sulfur is what smells like rotten eggs. Know that reaching for the mint may not help for a while as you often have to wait for the food to work its way through your system. This can take up to 72 hours.
  3. You are on a low carb diet – eating lots of proteins and little carbs makes your body burn fats. One of the waste products is ketones which some people liken to rotten fruit. Drink lots of water to flush these out of your system.
  4. Medications you may be taking can cause dry mouth and lead to bad breath
  5. Chronic sinus infections or certain medical conditions like diabetes or chronic kidney failure
  6. Smoking or chewing tobacco – it’s a no brainer, smoking and chewing tobacco cause bad breath and stain your teeth

Regular visits to Premier Smile Center will help you avoid bad breath behind the mask. Schedule your next teeth cleaning and dental exam with your Fort Lauderdale dentist today.