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Journalism of Courage
GO on. Stick your tongue out as far as possible, look at it in the mirror, check to see if the back of your tongue is whitish. If it is, then it indicates you have bad breath.
Forget about cupping your palm and blowing into it to check for yucky breath. There are more sure-fire checks. Lick the back of your hand, let that dry for 10-15 seconds. If you notice an odour, you have bad breath because the sulphur salts from your tongue have been transferred to your hand. You can also wipe the top of your tongue with a piece of cotton. If you observe yellowish stains on the cotton, it clearly indicates that you have elevated sulfide levels and therefore bad breath.
Bad breath is caused by anaerobic bacteria which multiply in an environment which has less oxygen present in the mouth, throat and tonsils. This bacteria interacts with the environment and produces volatile sulphur compounds VSCs which are responsible for the odour.
There is the physiologic bad breath due to bacterial overgrowth mainly on the tongue, the pathologic bad breath due to illness and the transitory bad breath after eating pungent food containing garlic, onions and the like and lasts between 24 and 72 hours.
8216;8216;One must be aware of the food items which cause bad breath,8217;8217; stresses Dr Chunawalla. 8216;8216;Sugars serve as a fuel for bacteria. Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt are retained on the tongue and in the mouth and these produce VSCs and so do acidic foods like coffee, tomato juice, citrus juices and, of course, onions, garlic etc which already have sulphur compounds,8217;8217; he adds.
Not just food, even coughs, colds and sinusitis can cause bad breath. Having pinpointed the causes, how on earth does one go about ridding oneself of it?
The answer lies in keeping the tongue clean. Its surface encourages the rapid multiplication of bacteria and because of its large surface area, the tongue is responsible for almost 80-85 per cent of bad breath. Other than regular tongue cleaning, here are some other dos and don8217;ts:
8226; Avoid sugar, saccharin and mouthwashes containing alcohol
8226; Keep your mouth moist, have plenty of water and use sugarfree chewing gums and mints
8226; Eat fibrous fruits and veggies and avoid raw onion and garlic.
8226; Rinse your mouth after having dairy products, tea and coffee
8226; If your problem still persists then make a beeline for the Fresh Breath Clinic for detailed examination and treatment.
Fresh Breath Clinic,
Dr Yusuf K Chunawalla,
37 Wonderland, 7 MG Road, Pune
Ph: 020-26130232,
Clinic 020-26132847,
yusufkcyahoo.com
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