A recent study showed that mouthwashes (even "antibacterial" brands), gums, and breath mints merely mask the bad breath problem. It showed that they only work for a short time (an hour at most) because the bacteria in the mouth are still alive and well.
Obviously, mints, gum, sprays, and mouthwashes are poor cover-ups for bad breath, although people in American alone purchased over 1 billion dollars worth of them last year.
The bacteria can still hide comfortably under the coating of the tongue, regardless of whether you use an antibacterial mouthwash or not. Instead of reducing the build-up on the tongue, all of the currently available mouthwashes just add to the existing compost-pile.
Of interest also is the fact that the antibacterial pastes and washes used today alter the chemical and/or biochemical situation in the mouth, for example by changing the PH there.
Possibly the worst ingredient used in rinses is alcohol, due to it's drying nature in the mouth itself. This promotes the multiplying of the anaerobic bacteria, and there is indications that their long-term use can cause oral cancers.
So many people spend their hard earned money on ineffective cover-ups like mouthwash, gum, sprays, and mints without ever getting to the root of the problem. It will cost more than 180.00 a year to have just a single pack of mints every day, for example, and many spend more than that.
Even in this modern age of space travel and the world wide web, it's hard to believe thatwe have made so little progress in something as simple as cleaning our breath. It seems that our progress in the area of oral hygiene and bad breath has been less than you would expect.
Think about it for a moment. Why do you use a toothbrush? If the same results could be achieved with a mouthwash as a toothbrush, then no one would bother with a brush, they would just "rinse and go". We all know that it would not work, so why would we expect the tongue to be clean after a "quick rinse" of chemical-laden mouthwash.
Just brushing, flossing, and gargling only, has been shown in recent studies, not to be enough to deal with bad breath, as 90% or more of the bad breath cases studied were attributed to the decomposing coating on the tongue.
Research shows that our "normal" hygiene routine doesn't work against the bacteria on the tongue because we simply are not properly cleaning our tongues.
Many dentists even tell their patients to clean their tongues with a toothbrush. "Tongue-brushing" is not reccommended because the toothbrush will hold onto the bacteria and contaminate it causing more infection on next use. This process is totally unclean, and who is willing to throw out their brush after each use?
The real problem is at the back of the tongue, and brushing the tongue merely mashes the bacteria and plaque deeper into the "filliform" without addressing the real issue.
The "coating" on the tongue is equivalent to the "plaque" on the teeth. Brushing is simply not enough even though it is a step in the right direction. It loosens the coating but does not get rid of it.
About the author: Researcher and author Del Carl presents unique articles and information for you covering the area of bad breath and other directly related subject matters online at his website. Why not drop by today. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.
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