Home Treatments for Bad Breath

Oral Hygiene

• It may seem like common sense, but if you have problems with bad breath, the solution may be as simple as improving your oral hygiene. Brush your teeth three times a day. Take a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss with you wherever you go. When you brush your teeth, also brush your tongue, the roof of your mouth, your gums and the insides of your cheeks, floss between all your teeth and gargle with mouthwash.

Drink Water

• One cause of bad breath is dry mouth. Drinking plain water or water with fresh lemon or lime hydrates your mouth and throat, as well as your body, and helps eliminate bad breath. If you don't like water, make it more palatable with flavored ice cubes, fruit juice or powdered supplements or flavorings.

Less Meat, More Veggies

• Reducing or eliminating meat and adding veggies to your diet will improve your breath or eliminate bad breath altogether. Eat raw vegetables like carrots, celery and broccoli three times per week or more often. Adding fresh fruits like apples, pears, oranges and melons improves breath as well.

Herbal Remedies

• Many herbs sweeten and freshen breath. Anise seeds chewed into pulp rid the mouth of bad breath by killing bacteria and leave a licorice scent and flavor. Clove mouth rinse made by boiling two or three cloves in a couple of cups of water cleanses and freshens the mouth and breath. Chewing on fresh mint leaves or parsley sprigs cleanses the palate after eating and masks bad breath.

Apple Cider Vinegar

• The acidic, astringent qualities of apple cider vinegar cleanse the mouth and breath. Taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar after each meal does double duty by eliminating bad breath and helping digestion.

Gargle with Salt Water

• Gargling with salt water cleans out bacteria in the mouth that cause bad breath. Salt water also cleans sinuses of infection and bacteria, which contribute to bad breath. Flushing nostrils with salt water with either a saline nasal spray or a netti pot clears sinuses that may be causing bad breath.