maybe you just need a pick me up, or the fashion magazines have finally gotten to you, or you quit smoking, or you're realizing that you drink too much coffee.  Whatever the reason, you've decided that your teeth need whitening.

Two Basic Types--At-Home Version

Once you've made the decision to whiten your teeth, you really have two basic types of teeth whitening systems to choose between.  The first type is an at-home teeth whitening system.  These systems, like Crest White Strips, use a peroxide mix applied to your teeth over the course of a few days or weeks.  The peroxide is held to your teeth either by a tray, similar to a football mouth guard, or by adhesive strips.  The peroxide mix usually ranges from 6% to 10% peroxide, depending on the brand.  Those who don't like going to the dentist may prefer this system, since no dentist visit is necessary.  It is also cheaper than the alternative teeth whitening system.  However, it may take a few weeks to see results, so the at-home systems are not good choices for those who want a whiter smile for an upcoming event.

From Your Dentist

The other teeth whitening system involves a visit to your dentist for a professional whitening procedure.  Unlike the at home whitening system which keeps a weak peroxide solution in contact with your teeth for a long period of time, a professional teeth whitening system will keep a strong peroxide solution in contact with your teeth for a short period of time.  In general, an hour long dentist appointment will whiten your teeth the same amount as they would whiten during two weeks of at-home treatment.  Some dentists involve the use of a bleaching light, though this procedure may damage teeth slightly.  Professional teeth whitening systems are convenient since they require only a few appointments (sometimes just one) in order to produce visible results.  However, they are more expensive than at-home treatments.

Both at-home and professional teeth whitening systems put users at risk of side effects.  In fact, an estimated one half of all people using at home whitening systems experience some side effects, usually in the form of sensitive teeth or irritated gums.  These come from an overexposure to peroxide, and if they're experienced patients are advised to use less peroxide or switch to a brand with a lower concentration of peroxide in the paste to avoid further irritation.

Technorati Tags: Appearance, Beauty, coffee stains, Crest White Strips, Dental, smoking stains, teeth whitening

You’ll have a hard time keeping relationships, people will avoid you, and you’ll never really know why.  Even if you do know that you have bad breath, it isn’t as easy to get rid of as you’d think.  Or is it?  Are there any cures for bad breath?  Or just different ways of covering it up?

Deal With The Causes

Most of the ‘cures for bad breath’ you’ll see are definitely the latter; they are basically scents and perfumes for your mouth that will wear off in time.  And as strong as they may taste or feel in your mouth, severe cases of bad breath will still be noticeable over and above these treatments.  In order to really find a cure for bad breath, you have to understand what’s causing it.

Bacteria Is The Culprit

So what does cause bad breath?  In a word; bacteria.  Everyone’s favorite microbes are once again to blame.  In fact, just about every bad organic smell you can imagine comes down to bacteria.  Even though they are vital for our survival and are an integral part of the world’s ecosystem, bacteria really know how to stink things up.

So a cure for bad breath should focus on killing or reducing bacteria, right?  Yes and no.  Here’s where the cures for bad breath distinguish themselves.  Most claim that they kill some ridiculously high percentage of bacteria in your mouth, and that’s just great.  However, killing large amounts of bacteria isn’t really the goal.  Removing the specific odor-causing bacteria, and neutralizing their odor- producing compounds is the goal.

The vast majority of the odor-causing bacteria in your mouth are centered on one place-- your tongue.  Specifically, the back parts of your tongue.  And trust me, they’re stuck on there good.  A little brushing of your tongue may help, but won’t really be a cure for bad breath.  To really cure bad breath, you have to physically scrape the bacterial biofilm off of your tongue.  This isn’t as easy as it sounds as it can produce a gag reflex if you’re not used to doing it, but in time you’ll get over it and it gets easier.  You can use a tongue scraper, or anything that has enough of an edge to scoop up the plaque, but isn’t so sharp that it will cut your tongue.

Not Just Any Mouthwash Will Do

A good complement to scraping your tongue is of course regular brushing and flossing, but also using mouthwash.  Not just any mouthwash will do; there are specific odor neutralizing chemicals in some brands that are vastly superior as a bad breath cure than the more popular brands, like Scope or Listerine.  Alcohol and menthol don’t do anything; look for brands that advertise the ability to neutralize volatile sulfur compounds, as those are the ones that will help serve as a cure for bad breath.

Good Luck!

Technorati Tags: bacteria, bad breath, cure, dental hygiene, tongue, treatment