What Causes Morning Breath and How to Prevent It?

Morning breath is natural. However, this does not mean that it isn’t embarrassing. It can cause you to feel self-conscious when seeing your significant other, family members, or roommates first thing in the morning.

Morning breath is a term used to describe bad breath that occurs when you first wake up after sleep. While you’re asleep, bacteria can be bred as food particles on your teeth, tongue and gums break down, leaving unpleasant-smelling chemicals in your mouth.

What Causes Morning Breath?

Here are a few common causes behind morning breath:

Food

Aside from leftover food particles in your mouth, certain foods can cause smelly breath, such as garlic, onions, and spices. Since they’re strong-smelling foods, they can cause morning breath even if you brush your teeth very well.

Dry Mouth

Do you have excellent oral hygiene? Dry mouth might be the most likely cause. Throughout the day, saliva helps wash away bacteria from the mouth that cause bad breath. However, when you sleep, saliva production decreases significantly and contributes to the foul smell.

Poor Oral Hygiene

Another common cause behind morning breath is poor oral hygiene. Mouths are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, so if you’re not brushing or flossing effectively, food particles can get trapped in the crevices on the tongue, between the teeth, and along the gum tissue. When bacteria break down these food particles, it releases a foul-smelling odor in the morning.

Tobacco

Using tobacco products, particularly smoking, is significantly associated with bad breath and halitosis. It can dry out your mouth and increase your risk of gum disease.

How to Prevent Morning Breath

There are a few simple tips you can follow to avoid this unwanted morning visitor.

1、Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water during the day and place a glass or bottle of water by the bed in case you wake up thirsty.

2、Watch what you eat before bed: As strong-smelling foods can lead to bad morning breath, it’s a good idea to avoid eating pungent foods such as garlic, onions and smelly fish late at night.

3、Quit the cigarettes: Giving up is a surefire way to improve your morning breath, as well as your overall health. For advice on the best way to quit, talk to your doctor.

4、Oral Hygiene：Proper oral hygiene is essential for helping bad breath, in general. Brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day and floss once. Cleaning your tongue whenever you brush your teeth can help eliminate the bacteria residing there. You may also want to consider using a mouthwash that doesn’t contain alcohol. Mouthwash can help kill the bacteria in your mouth, but mouthwashes that contain alcohol can also dry out your mouth.