We've all found ourselves chatting with someone whose breath could easily wilt a flower. With more than 90 million people suffering from chronic bad breath (also called halitosis), that's a lot of wilted flowers. If you (or someone you regularly smooch) has an attack of bad breath that even Altoids won't fix, try these eight simple tips to fix the problem.

1. Don't let your tongue become a dirty carpet - A clean tongue goes a long way to warding off bad breath, says Stephen Z. Wolner, a dentist in private practice in New York City. "Your tongue microscopically is like a shaggy carpet. There are millions of filaments on your tongue that trap tiny food particles and bacteria," he says. Get in the habit of regularly cleaning your tongue using a toothbrush, the edge of a spoon, or a tongue cleaner. If you have any mouth guards or oral devices, make sure to clean them thoroughly before putting them back in your mouth.

2. Chew gum like it's going out of style - "When you chew gum it makes you salivate, and the more saliva you have in your mouth the fewer bacteria you have. It not only mechanically washes bacteria out, but we have antiseptic and enzymes in our saliva that kill bacteria," says Wolner.

3. Drink more water - You might not even notice you're thirsty, he says, so make drinking water a habit, because water will help keep the bacteria in your mouth to a minimum. Drinking water has a lot of health benefits, and preventing bad breath is one of them.

Categories: halatosis [t], breath [t], blogspot [t], nutang [t]

Chewing gum irritates my jaw. :/ It doesn't help that it makes me paranoid, because I see people chewing at it so noisily... it's disgusting. :/

They say most people confuse hunger and thirst.
» ikimashokie on 2007-02-21 09:50:55

She's definitely a very important part of nutang.

I can't have people questioning her 'tang! I love it!
» Chloefoxx on 2007-02-21 10:08:52

True story, and I don't think she is playing hard to get. Shes... not playing at all.

I'm soooo taking your advice.
» Dilated on 2007-02-22 03:09:25

watching naruto during summer holidays 2 years ago made me an anime addict now.
» renaye on 2007-02-22 05:23:25

There was more than one Butterfly Effect? Ugh. It could've been a good movie, but he could just travel in time for no reason? That's just silly.
» DarkDragonKnight on 2007-02-22 07:49:51

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