15 Home Remedies for Bad Breath

Bad breath, also called halitosis, is actually a bad smell coming out from the mouth due to any illness or food products after eating & it can be embarrassing and, in many cases, may even cause anxiety & behavioral changes. To understand the potential home remedies for bad breath, it’s important to first learn what causes it.

What Causes the Bad Breath

Bad breath can be a short time but maybe long-lasting. It is the unpleasant smell present in the breath being categorized into genuine and non-genuine cases.

Types of Bad Breath

• Rotten egg smell
• The fruity or sweet smell
• Moldy or fungus smell
• Fecal smell. (1)

In most of the actual cases of bad breath, the odor arises from the mouth. However, in later cases, the smell is caused due to diseases in the GI tract, i.e., stomach, esophagus, throat, sinus, nose, tonsils, and lungs. Bad breath is simply considered as an indication of the poor condition of the gastrointestinal tract. (2,3)

Foods that Cause Bad Breath

We all get foul breath after eating some pungent foods like garlic or onion, and it vanishes as food passed out of the body.

• Garlic
• Onions
• Dairy
• Canned Tuna
• Horseradish.
• Peanut butter
• Meat
• Fish ( protein-rich food )
• Nuts & Seeds
• Milk in case of lactose intolerance. (4,5)

Related: 8 Ways to Stop Bad Breath From the Mouth

Home Remedies for Bad Breath

The bad smell has much impact on behavior which may disturb the daily routine work not only of yours but others too having close contacts with you at offices & different field works (3). So, we need to treat this issue as soon as possible. Below are some key home remedies for bad breath.

1. Water

Dry mouth is common & usual, a condition that can cause bad breath as well as many oral health problems. Drinking plenty of water can help prevent this condition as continuous water touch elevates the salivary gland secretions production & increase their activity.

We may find relief if we use artificial saliva. Water is most useful to control the smell by preventing the dehydration state of the body. (8,9,10)

2. Clean Your Teeth and Gums

Different bad-breath conditions are linked to oral hygiene. If we don’t brush and floss thoroughly, our mouth breaks down the tiny chunks of food that are caught between your teeth after the meal. It results in the case of an irritating odor that smells like sulfur or rotten eggs.

To avoid such bad breath caused by remaining food chunks, brush twice a day with good quality toothpaste, floss once daily, and have regular checkups from dentist almost with the gap of 3 to 4 months if you feel it. (11,12,13)

3. Scrape Your Tongue

Brushing and flossing alone can’t fix your smelly bad breath, because the tongue can house the food particles. So, to get to them, brush your tongue, or use a tongue scraper which mostly attached to the brand quality toothbrush. Rinse your mouth after each use. (14,15)

4. Raw Foods and Veggies

Crunchy, fiber-rich fruits and green vegetables can help to clean the mouth of food particles that usually cling with teeth and tongue after meals. It’s very simple to understand that food is the cause of bad breath, so if we choose good food, we can prevent this from happening.

It’s good not to overeat dessert cause it can affect our breath. Refined foods items and white sugar can cause many bacteria in the mouth to overfed, which results in bad breath eventually. (16,17)

5. Kick the Alcohol and Tobacco Habit

Alcohol has diuretic properties that can dehydrate your body. Moreover, it decreases levels of saliva, leaving your mouth the right environment for harmful bacteria to hang. Anyhow, vodka has properties like mouthwash that can kill bacteria, so that’s something important to remember. (18,19)

Smoking causes decrease saliva secretion resulting in dry mouth. Smoking not only causes breathing problems but severe health issues, i.e., heart, lungs & nervous system’s diseases. If you quit, your breath won’t smell like cigarettes anymore as salivary glands activity is restored after quitting. That will also help fight this unpleasant odor. (20,21,22)

6. Chew Sugarless Gum

Chewing gum helps to loosen & remove both food and dead cells from teeth, which bacteria need to create bad breath. Some people think that the minty flavor of gum will mask their bad breath.

It helps to make more saliva, and sugar-free kinds sweetened with xylitol have a great part to combat the growth of odor-causing harmful bacteria in your mouth.

Gums with sugar can cause some unpleasant smell, so avoid full sugar-coated gums cause more sugar to provide a nourishing environment to bacteria, which ultimately causes bad breath. (23,24)

7. Fennel Seeds & Cloves

Fennel seeds having antiseptic properties help to get rid of bacteria. Chew a tablespoon of fennel seeds to freshen your breath. It also stimulates the production of saliva in the mouth that washes out bacteria from the mouth. Simply, the antimicrobial effect in saliva prevents bad breath. You can simply chew the seeds or may make a mixture with tea for use.

For this, add the teaspoon of fennel seeds in a cup of boiling water. Allow the resulting mixture for 5 minutes to sit before taking tea. You can take tea several times throughout the day. It also helps to lose weight. (25,26)

Cloves, just like Fennel, have very excellent  & amazing antimicrobial properties that make this natural remedy useful for bad smell. Also, cloves have been shown to be antibiotic in nature, which means that taking cloves will not only freshen the breath but will also help to get rid of the bacteria that produce this odor.

Chew the cloves like fennel seeds more thoroughly as this is a quick fix method that works wonders in just a few minutes. You can also prepare clove tea by adding ground cloves in a cup of steaming hot drinking water and allowing the mixture for five minutes to stand before drinking it. Many people like to use clove tea as a mouthwash, and simply rinse the mixture.

Anyhow, clove is an effective way to beat bad breath naturally in every case of use. (27,28)

8. Coconut oil

Oil pulling is a beneficial technique used for oral hygiene. It keeps our mouth infections free. It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory characteristics that distinguish its importance from other different oils. (29,30)

Take a tablespoon of coconut oil, put it in your mouth, and swish for about 10 to 12 minutes & Spit it out after doing this.  Rinse your mouth with some warm water. Make it your routine of life in the morning before brushing your teeth.

After doing this, spit it into the garbage & not homes sinks as their toxic contents start eroding the surfaces. (31)

Related: 12 Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

9. Ginger slice and Cinnamon

Ginger is a miracle herb having several health benefits. One of its significant effects is the elimination of bad breath as well as throat and oral infections. You will need a glass of slightly warm water and a teaspoon of fresh ginger juice.

Extract juice from the ginger slices and add it to a glass of warm water. After making a solution, use this & rinse your mouth. Use this after every meal. And when the odor is under control, then do this after every third day. (32,33)

Cinamon has cinnamic aldehyde, which is an essential oil  &  reduces the growth of bacteria in the mouth and prevents bad breath. After boiling the cinnamon powder in water & adding bay leaves & cardamom seeds, we get a strong solution. Now use it as a mouth rinse twice a day, which helps a lot from the odor of mouth. (34,35)

10. Lemon Juice, vitamin C containing fruits, apples, and lemons

Lemon and orange rind helps to freshen the mouth with a burst of flavor. The citric acid in these fruits increases saliva production and fights off bad breath. These are best for bad breath and intestinal & digestion problems that cause bloating issues.

Lemon juice having ascorbic acid helps to deal with the microbes that cause bad breath. The antimicrobial properties of lemon juice get rid of growing bacteria in the mouth & throat. The lemon water also stops the bacteria if they are causing tooth decay (for a short time). (36, 37))

Foods enriched in vitamin C (like broccoli and oranges) have great importance for defeating stinky breath. The Vitamin C in lemon juice helps against sore throat or throat infection by reducing the swelling and fighting off the bacteria, causing the infection in the first place.

Researches confirmed that apples have a powerful effect against garlic breath. It is considered as a triple dose of bad-breath prevention. Some important natural compounds in apples neutralize the foul-smelling compounds in garlic. This is especially useful for people whose garlic breath lingers as it neutralizes the compounds in the bloodstream,. (38)

Make a mixture with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a glass of water. Drink this mixture before taking meals. This will treat bad breath. Moreover, you may take some apple cider vinegar and a cup of water and simply gargle for this purpose.

Melons provide a lot of vitamin C, which creates a strict & harsh environment for the harmful bacteria in the mouth to thrive. Moreover, it’s very high in water content that indirectly hydrates the mouth and prevents dryness, which ultimately causes a bad smell. (28)

11. Yogurt and Whole Milk

Yogurt has healthy bacteria named lactobacillus. These healthy bacteria help to combat the harmful bacteria in various parts of your body, i.e., gut. Sugar-free yogurt having probiotics help reduce the severity of bad breath. So eat at least one serving of plain & nonfat yogurt to fight the bad breath. (39,40)

Milk is a famous cure for bad breath. Researchers find that drinking milk after garlic meals can significantly improve “garlicky” breath.

For this, you have to drink a glass of low- or full-fat milk after a meal having strong-smelling foods like garlic and onions. It is thought that milk having a large amount of fat has a great impact on neutralizing the odors. (23,27)

12. Green tea and chlorophyll

Green tea is a beneficial & common home remedy for bad breath. Green tea has antimicrobial and deodorizing properties that help to freshen the breath. Mixing a cup of tea with green mint results in an ideal breath freshener.

The study says that antioxidants in the tea, i.e., polyphenols, destroy many compounds in the mouth that can cause bad breath and even mouth cancer too. (41)

Chlorophyll is the special greenish pigment that gives all green plants their lush & green color. It also includes green vegetables like asparagus, parsley, broccoli, and dark leafy greens. Chlorophyll has some unique properties that allow it to “freshen” the body’s internal environment by eliminating odor-causing bacteria. This is the reason it is also called nature’s internal deodorant.

So, adding more chlorophyll in the diet can help to get rid of bad breath. We can also add a few extra green vegetables in our grocery list each week and incorporate one into our every meal, or we can blend extra greens into our morning smoothie.

13. Homemade Mouthwash with Baking Soda

Baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) even effectively kills bacteria in the mouth.  It helps by reducing the levels of acidity in the mouth and creating a harsh environment for the growth of bacteria in the mouth. Research Trusted Source indicates almost all toothpaste has high concentrations of baking soda, which effectively reduces bad breath. (13)

Add two teaspoons of baking soda to 1 cup of warm water and swish the mouthwash in your mouth before spitting it out.

You can add a pinch of baking soda to your toothbrush and brush generally by targeting the tongue and the gums.

14. Homemade Mouthwash with Vinegar

Vinegar contains an acid called acetic acid. Bacteria can’t grow in acidic environments, so a vinegar mouthwash reduces bacteria growth. (42,43).

Add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of water. Rinse this mixture before spitting it out.

Related: 15 Uses For Apple Cider Vinegar

15. Mint Leaves

Leaves of the mint plant, known as pudina, offer a very effective remedy against bad breath. Mint leaves are laden with anti-bacterial properties, which are perfect for oral health. Little wonder most teeth paste products are formulated to include mint. The leaves have a refreshing and cooling effect, making them ideal for dealing with halitosis. (44)

Take some fresh mint leaves and munch at different times throughout the day. It will give you astonishing results.