While we can usually cover up bad breath during the day with gum, breath mints or mouthwash, it is not so easy to do while you are sleeping. The result is that awful, stinky breath known as morning breath. The Bad Breath Institute, more than 80 million people in the United States has some degree of bad breath such as morning breath, taste disorders and dry mouth. Here are some causes and solutions of morning breath.
Causes of morning breath- Whether or not people want to admit it, every person has some degree of morning breath. Morning breath is the result of your mouth drying out while you sleep, causing a rapid increase in bacteria that causes odors. When we sleep, our mouths do not produce as much saliva as when we are awake, causing awful morning breath.
Also, if you snore at night or breath through your mouth instead of your nose, you are more likely to have some rancid breath in the morning. This is due to the fact that the decrease in saliva is mixed in with air flow going in and out of your mouth, causing a drying of your throat, tongue and teeth.
People that smoke may also experience morning breath because smoking can cause the temperature of your mouth to increase, causing it to become a bacteria breeding ground. Also, smoking causes the saliva in your mouth to dry up.
Solutions for morning breath- One of the most important solutions for morning breath is to engage in an oral care regimen that includes brushing your teeth, flossing your teeth and gargling with mouthwash.
You can also gargle with a mixture of water and baking soda (one cup of water with one teaspoon of baking soda) before going to bed at night. The baking soda changes the level of acidity in your mouth so that bacteria will not build up.
Another solution for morning breath is to rinse your mouth with a combination of apple cider vinegar and water (one cup of water with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar). The apple cider vinegar contains antiseptic properties, meaning it will kill the nasty bacteria in your mouth that causes morning breath.
References:
http://www.badbreathinstitute.com/bad-breath-info/statistics