Does Mouthwash Eliminate Bad Breath?

Kelvin Ho asked:


If you have eaten some amazing spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, your first thought might be to go and brush your teeth. You probably think that if you gargle a bit of mouthwash, you have nothing to worry about as far as your breath smelling bad. However, does mouthwash eliminate bad breath completely? There are a couple of things you should know before we attempt to answer that question.

First of all, there are two different kinds of bad breath. Transient ones only last temporarily. This is the kind you get when you have had the garlic bread, onions, other strongly scented spices, cheese, or sugary foods. Normally, although this can be a pain, transient bad breath will go away when the food has left your body.

Chronic halitosis is a different story. This is the kind that seems like it will not go away, no matter what you do. In fact, it is the third leading reason that people seek out dental help. There are many reasons that a person might have this condition such as people who suffer from Periodontitis, Gingivitis, or other gum and tooth diseases. This is because bacteria in the mouth can hide in many different places. Usually, people with gum diseases have pockets in their mouth from receding gum lines. This is a prime place for particles of food and bacteria to hide. This can cause chronic bad breath, and unfortunately, the only real way to fix this is through a doctor’s visit.

While you can use mouthwash to help kill bacteria, it is unlikely that it will permanently get rid of the bad breath associated with gum diseases and other health problems. Issues like infected tonsils, strep throat, and other things of this nature can cause chronic bad breath, and mouthwash isn’t going to fix that.

So, if you are experiencing transient bad breath, mouthwash can probably help you out. However, for chronic ones, the source needs to be found and treated before the bad breath will go away.

For transient halitosis, mouthwash help to eliminate that with its great bacteria killing properties, and ability to rinses out leftover food particles. With the strong ingredients in mouthwash, it should at least get rid of it until the last of the food leaves your body.

Brushing your teeth after every meal, flossing between your teeth, and using a great health promoting mouthwash is the best way to have a healthy mouth and fresh breath. If it still bothers you a great deal, try to stay away from foods which cause you to have halitosis. That includes garlic and onions.