Have you ever had a conversation with someone only to realize immediately afterwards that your breath smells terrible? You have brushed, flossed, rinsed, and your breath still stinks! Have you ever found yourself with this embarrassing problem?

Over 80% of bad breath originates in the mouth.  There are millions of bacteria on your tongue that cannot be brushed off with your toothbrush. The deep grooves and hair like projections on your tongue, known as papillae, also hold food particles. Imagine last night’s dinner, sitting in a moist environment at 98.6 degrees for 8-12 hours. It’s going to smell bad!

Most everyone knows the importance of brushing, flossing, and proper dental for maintaining oral health. A tongue scraper is a necessary tool in the fight against plaque, bacteria, and bad breath! You cannot get a clean tongue by brushing it with a toothbrush. A toothbrush is made to clean the harder, solid structure of your teeth and gums. Your tongue is soft and squishy. The tongue scraper gently lifts and removes odor causing debris and bacteria from the grooves of your tongue.

Daily tongue scraping is key to fresh breath! Your dentist or hygienist will be happy to demonstrate proper oral hygiene including tongue scraping for you. Don’t rely on mouthwash, gum, or mints to just cover up your bad breath. Eliminate bad breath with this easy technique!

It’s Halloween night and your little candy cruncher has laid out his or her Halloween candy all over the floor. You, of course, take some of your favorites because he doesn’t need all that candy. You deserve it after walking all those blocks in the freezing cold drizzle! 

I’m going to tell you one of the scariest things about Halloween. Sugar mixed with the bacteria in your mouth produces acid. This acid attacks your teeth for up to 20 minutes. If you are snacking on Halloween candy several times a day for several days…the effect on teeth can be dramatic!

The number of times per day teeth are exposed to sugar should be limited. Ten pieces of candy in ten minutes is better than one piece of candy every day for 10 days because of less acid exposure to the enamel.

The following might not seem like a good idea for your little monster’s belly but it works well for their teeth. Give them free reign with the candy sack for one or two days then get rid of the rest. If you need a place to donate it, your local dental office would be happy to take it!

Call Joy M. Miller D.D.S. dental office at (816) 452-5800 to schedule an appointment after your Halloween adventures.