How can staying hydrated prevent bad breath?

CLINICAL CONTENT WRITTEN & REVIEWED BY CLOVE CLINICAL TEAM

Last Modified: July 4, 2023

FACT CHECKED

We have all been there, standing at an uncomfortable moment when we realize our breath might not be as fresh as we thought it should be. That can be embarrassing and self-conscious, especially if you are out in public. But sometimes, the least complicated reason behind bad breath lies in something that should rescue us from it: staying hydrated. That’s right – drinking enough water can do more than quench your thirst; even freshen up your breath and make it clean.

So how does hydration prevent bad breath? Well, it all starts with your saliva. If you’re dehydrated, for instance, your body produces less saliva. Your mouth ends up drying up-and trust me, a dry mouth is a fertile breeding ground for odor-causing bacteria. Well, if you’re hydra-ted, then your body will be able to produce the saliva necessary for flushing out some of those bacteria that can produce that bad breath and keeping the mouth moist. So, if you want to be able to avoid that bad breath, then you should make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Hydration and Oral Habits

Water keeps your mouth moist and healthy by washing away all that bad food debris and the bacteria causing bad breath, decay, and gum disease. If we do not drink much water when we have been thirsty, we are producing less saliva, and thus our mouths are dry. A dry mouth is a paradise for the bacteria that will lead to bad breath.

Enough water ensures to keep our mouths hydrated and thus reduces the case of dry mouth. Keeping our mouth hydrated with water assists in stimulating saliva production to further help wash away the bacteria and food particles in our mouth.

How Dehydration leads to Bad Breath

Experts add that dehydration dries the mouth and this leads to the worst reasons for bad breath; our mouth, due to the low production of saliva in it, results in the accumulation of bacteria and food particles. The results would therefore be a foul smell from our mouths.

This results in a reduction of the production of stomach acids, which causes acid refluxes. This, in turn, results in sour or bitter tastes in our mouth, hence causing an increase in bad breath.

Benefits of Hydration in the Fight Against Bad Breath

Drinking sufficient water prevents bad breath through two routes. It keeps the mouth moist, thus keeping the salivary glands stimulated to promote secreting saliva that washes out bacteria and food fragments. This keeps the bacteria from accretion in our mouths, causing bad breath.

Drinking water also detoxifies our body which may cause foul odor mouth also. It stops the buildup of bacteria and other materials that are the causes of bad smell in our mouth and body.

Other methods of Hydration and Maintaining Fresh Breath

These are:

Balanced diet with fruit and vegetables
Avoiding sweets, acidic edible and beverages
Gum chewing sugar-free will stimulate saliva.
Utilization of a humidifier to avoid dryness in air
Avoid smoking and alcohol, which encourage the dryness of the mouth.

Bad breath is the other kind of refusal besides direct denial. Bad breath embarrasses a person too-contributing to one’s threats of losing confidence and self-esteem. Bad breath becomes manageable if one ensures hydration. Adequate water keeps the mouth moist. Moistening helps prevent dryness; one of the major causes of bad breaths.

It is pertinent to drink sufficient water, develop proper food habits, avoid sweet and acidic foods; drinks that do not smoke tobacco, alcohol does not drink, where we keep our mouth clean and fresh without any bad breath, so it will allow the mouth to be healthy and odor-free, and it creates our day-to-day activities much more confident.