What are the Different Types of Bad Breath Home Remedies?

For me, I have found that proper dental care and dental hygiene has been the most effective remedy for keeping my breath fresh and decent. It seems like the only time I have noticeably bad breath is when I do not brush or floss at least twice a day.

I do also try to avoid most foods with garlic and onion in it, as this seems particular difficult to remove the stench. I do eat foods with garlic and onion in them occasionally though, especially if I am in the comfort of my own home, because I know they offer a lot of health benefits.

I have cheese almost everyday as a snack, as I love the taste of cheese. I did not know that cheese is an actual bad breath remedy. This may be another reason why I don't seem to have bad breath very often.

Sometimes it is not even that my bad breath is noticeable to anyone in my vicinity (I know because I check with my husband!) rather it is just that I want the taste I have in my mouth out or my mouth just feels gross that made me look for different types of bad breath home remedies.

And I have to say, while I enjoy the easy fix of the mouth wash, I think that the best remedy for those gross mouth feelings for me is to floss *and* brush. Brushing feels great, but once I started to floss regularly my mouth felt ridiculously clean.

My dentist told me a long time ago that a big cause of bad breath is bacteria on the tongue, although I think another contributing factor is diet.

I am a vegetarian, and since I stopped eating meat I almost never notice that I have bad breath, aside from waking up in the morning. I also think that processed foods might be a contributing factor as well, though I haven't been told so by a dentist.

I use peppermint extract that comes in a bottle like vanilla extract to treat my bad breath. I take it with me to work in my purse, and I use it after eating.

I put a few drops of it on my tongue, and then I take a sip of water. I swish it around in my mouth until I feel the cool, tingling sensation. Then, I spit it out.

My breath smells better, and my mouth feels icy cool. It's a quick fix that I like to use after chewing sugarfree gum to get food out of my teeth. Even gum that is formulated to freshen breath doesn't seem to work for me, so I keep the extract handy.

My dogs live outside, so they can get into some pretty disgusting things. Once they developed the habit of eating cow manure, I knew I had to come up with a way to freshen their breath, even if it only lasted until the next cow pile snack.

I got two regular bone-shaped dog treats and put a few drops of peppermint oil on top of them. It soaked in quickly, and I gave the treats to my dogs, who took them eagerly. As I have seen in the past, they will eat anything.

It did improve their breath. They smelled like they had just rinsed with mouthwash.

However, I knew that I should not use it as a long-term treatment without asking my vet if it was safe. She told me that peppermint oil can make dogs very sick if they ingest enough of it, so I had to discontinue my home remedy. I got some of those chew sticks that are supposed to freshen a dog's breath, and they worked just as well.

I chew on sprigs of mint to freshen my breath. I also sometimes buy the crushed mint that grocery stores keep buy the spices and herbs in bottles. I can sprinkle it on my tongue and let it sit in my mouth for a few minutes without even having to chew.

Some people think that since mint flavored products help treat bad breath, peppermint candy must also be a good remedy. This is untrue, though.

Every time I have been around someone who has peppermint candy in their mouth, it actually makes their breath worse. I think this is because of the high sugar content in it.

@letshearit – It sounds like your dog might have some serious tooth decay. That's what usually causes bad breath in dogs. The only way to fix this is to have the cavities filled by a vet.

I have even heard of some dog owners with small breeds having their older dog's teeth removed, because they start to rot. They have to eat soft food after that, but they don't have bad breath anymore.

Some vets say that tooth decay causes heart problems later in life if left untreated. That's another good reason to have your dog's teeth fixed.

Does anyone know any home remedies for dog's bad breath?

My family and I have a pomeranian and for some reason she has the worst breath ever. It will knock you right over if you get too close. We've taken her to the vet and we got some doggy mouth drops, but it doesn't really seem to be helping much.

We are really desperate for some good home remedies for bad dog breath.

So far we have tried echinacea mouthwash and some dog treats that were supposed to treat bad breath. Both of these failed as well, so we're willing to try anything.

There are so many home remedies to treat bad breath that it can be hard to figure out which one to trust. My favorite bad breath treatment is to use apple cider vinegar as a mouthwash. All you do is put about a half of a tablespoon of it in a glass of water and gargle with it. It doesn't really taste that bad and I find it neutralizes the nasty taste in my mouth.

If you find that the vinegar rinse doesn't work, baking soda might do the trick. All you need to do is brush with a bit of baking soda and it can really freshen up your mouth. Just make sure you rinse well afterward.

@JaneAir - I like to carry those little mini disposable toothbrushes with me. I think they came out a few years ago? They're very small and since they're disposable you don't have to worry about carrying them around in a bag or carrying case or something like that.

I also find that avoidance works well, like the article said. If I know I'm not going to have access to a toothbrush for awhile, I avoid coffee and onions. And of course beer! Beer breath is the worst. I used to work in a bar, and I can tell you that most drunk people have horrible breath, and no concept of how bad their breath actually is!

Bad breath can be a really strong indicator that something is wrong, health-wise. Bad breath can be caused by gum disease, diabetes, or a metabolic disorder. I really think the best thing to do if you have serious bad breath (that wasn't caused by eating too much onion or something) is to seek professional help.

I find that practicing good dental hygiene prevents most bad breath. However, I think we've all been stuck out in public with coffee breath or something like that. I like to carry those mouthwash strips in my purse with me. I find they work really well in a pinch.

@feruze-- I heard from a doctor on TV recently that long term use of mouthwash can cause mouth cancer! So I think you are right in worrying about using some of those products for a long period of time.

You can try gargling with warm salt water rather than mouthwash. Salt has antiseptic properties so it will kill any germs and it's completely natural unlike mouthwash.

In addition to the ones in the article, there are plenty of foods and teas you can have to help bad breath. One of my favorites is apple. Apples freshen breath! You can have an apple or some apple tea/apple cider after cheese or foods with onion and garlic. Or you can have some warm water with lemon juice in it which also has antibacterial properties.

It also sounds to me as if you might have a stomach bug that's causing odor. It happened to my dad once, he had a stomach bug that not only upset his stomach but made his breath really bad. It was constant because the odor was actually coming from his stomach. Of course, you should have your doctor check that out. If that's the case, you will need antibiotics.

During his treatment though, my dad used to have ginger tea, peppermint tea and lots of prebiotic yogurt. These helped calm his stomach and would get rid of the bad breath too.

I have a problem with bad breath. I've tried lots of things, mouth sprays, gum, mouthwash. But after about two or three hours it's like I never used them.

Some foods especially make it worse, like milk products and any foods with onion or garlic in it. I don't even drink milk or eat cheese now to avoid that cheese breath. Onion and garlic is out of the question but it's hard to avoid when I eat at restaurants because it's such a common ingredient.

I really don't know what to do, I'm very embarrassed to talk around people now. It's affecting my self esteem.

I also don't trust some of the products I've been using. There are some ingredients in my mouth spray that I can't even pronounce. I'm pretty sure it could be dangerous if I use it for a long time considering that I use it at least five times a day.

My mom has a couple of herbs and spices she always tells us to use if we have bad breath. One is dry cloves. Cloves have a really strong flavor, so when you chew it for a minute or two, it completely gets rid of bad breath.

Another option is fresh basil, which I prefer because it is much more mild and tastes good. We keep a small basil plant in the kitchen. Sometimes after food or coffee, I pick off a couple of fresh basil leaves and eat them. My mouth smells great!

I also think that using a tongue cleaner while brushing my teeth helps a lot too. It seems like a lot of the odor causing bacteria accumulate on the tongue.