Chemical Engineering in Daily Life – Question 41: Why does your mouth smell so bad? How to eliminate bad breath?
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This post was last edited by yjqin1 on 2015-8-21 09:57. I’ve had this question since I was young: Why do other people’s mouths smell so bad? Later, one can’t help but wonder: those men and women in love, those couples (since cohabitation before marriage did not exist at that time). Up to now, I also think that living together without getting married is a way for TM guys to take advantage of girls). Don’t you notice bad breath in their mouth? When I was young and in relationships, sometimes the girl would have an unpleasant taste in her mouth, and I would rush to explain for her: See, it’s her period again. Later, as someone who likes to think, I realized while abroad that the reason Chinese people don’t like kissing is probably bad breath. Maybe that’s it. An extremely difficult-to-deal-with Russian employee at my MG company told me that we Chinese should kiss our wives. But Dr. Kang (another employee at the company; he has a really wonderful taste in his mouth; presumably, lots of flies gather around him). . . . . , and then she said no more. In a normal working environment, foreigners indeed don’t have bad breath (they do have body odor though), and you can’t smell anyone else’s breath in the elevator. Only once, on a Sunday at school, I ran into my postdoc supervisor; his breath smelled bad. It was Sunday; it’s possible he didn’t take proper care of himself. It’s been a few years since I returned to my home country, and up close, I still find that other people have bad breath – especially bad mouth odor. So, I rarely take the elevator; one reason is to stay fit, and the other is to avoid the unpleasant smell inside it. My doctoral and master’s students – in the early morning, when they come to give their reports, their mouths must be really bad-smelling; let alone in the afternoon. I couldn’t help but remind them: at TJDX, there are no bathrooms in your dormitories; you only get to take a bath once a week, and I can understand that ； But can you brush your teeth three times a day, brushing carefully each time? My original driver, an old-timer, had a very stern demeanor (but didn’t smoke). I subtly gave him two hints, and he ended up quitting. I wonder if this is related? Today’s drivers, young guys who study music – they’re full of energy! There is no such problem. By saying all of the above, I must have angered a whole bunch of patriotic traitors. But before you speak, please go to the bathroom and clean your stinky mouth. Some traditionalists will surely mention things like eating habits, excessive stomach heat, and so on. We’re on a chemical engineering forum now; shall we discuss issues from a chemical and chemical engineering perspective? ! Fable: The lion is the king of all beasts; he makes the bear, the fox, and the rabbit his ministers. One day, the lion grew tired of his ministers. Call the bear over, open your gaping maw, and ask it: “What does my mouth taste like?” The bear said bluntly, “Your Majesty, your breath smells terrible.” The lion said, “Dareful bear, how dare you slander your king?” It opened its mouth and killed the bear. The lion turned and asked the fox. How sly foxes are, not to mention the bear’s fate lying right there. So the fox said, “Your Majesty, the taste in your mouth is simply delightful.” The lion said, \"Good job, you deceitful fox, full of flattery.\" As soon as its mouth opened, it killed the fox too. It was the rabbit’s turn; the rabbit said, \"I’m sorry, my king. I’ve had a cold these past couple of days.\" Lion: Where? . . Go down and rest. The rabbit quickly scurried away. Do lions also have excessive stomach heat? Back to the topic, from a chemical and industrial engineering perspective, which of the following measures do you think are most effective in eliminating bad breath? 1. Eat vegetables ； 2. Brush teeth twice a day, before going to bed and upon waking up ； 3. Brush your teeth or at least rinse your mouth after each meal ； 4. Don’t eat snacks; even if you do, rinse your mouth immediately ； 5. Use a toothpick to clean teeth after meals ； 6. After meals, carefully clean every gap between teeth with dental floss ； 7. Clean the tongue coating by using the tongue scraper while brushing teeth ； 8. After meals, use a water flosser (a small pump with a function to spray water) to rinse the mouth ； 9. Gargle with a Western medicine-formulated mouthwash several times a day ； 10. Gargle with the naturally derived mouthwash prepared using traditional Chinese medicine several times a day ； 11. Take traditional Chinese patent medicines to regulate the body and eliminate stomach heat ； 12. Exercise to strengthen the body. 13. Practice Qigong ； 14. Do as I say ； 15. Stay the same, and scold me at the same time. Oh, I forgot to ask. It’s not too late to ask now – why does your mouth smell bad?
Apart from stomach heat, bad breath is mainly caused by an unclean mouth. Food debris remains in the spaces between teeth, on the tongue, etc. Saliva contains digestive enzymes, and along with body temperature, these factors also cause changes; as a result, food debris contributes to bad breath.
Brush your teeth or at least rinse your mouth after each meal；
It’s actually related to diet and the stomach as well; although brushing teeth doesn’t completely solve the problem, it still helps! It’s important to develop good living habits
In the mouth, anaerobic bacteria break down food residues, producing bad odors; therefore, rinsing the mouth and brushing teeth after eating is very effective. Additionally, breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth also helps to suppress these anaerobic bacteria. There are also people whose bad breath is caused by internal bodily factors, such as gastrointestinal inflammation or the rise of stagnant qi; in such cases, odors from within the digestive tract lead to bad breath. For these individuals, it’s important to exercise more to strengthen their physical constitution. Many people are unaware of their own flaws; even those flaws that are obvious from a few meters away can be annoying. Brushing my teeth after meals has been a habit of mine for many years. When eating out, I can only rinse my mouth more often as a workaround. Most importantly, this practice helps to protect my teeth from decay in the long run. To ensure a happy life for yourself and others, always keep your mouth clean. :)
Brushing teeth and rinsing the mouth are not appropriate; it’s better to use some traditional Chinese medicine for regulation.
As someone with a background in science and engineering, do you truly think this way and act accordingly? ! We’ve been regulating it for almost five thousand years.
Gargling only provides temporary relief; it does not address the root cause. One should take traditional Chinese medicine to regulate the body and eliminate stomach heat；
The quality and quantity of saliva also play an important role. A decrease in saliva volume and an increase in organic components such as proteins reduce the rinsing and buffering effects of saliva, allowing bacteria to multiply extensively. These bacteria break down the organic components in saliva, gingival crevicular fluid, and food residues, producing large amounts of volatile sulfides, indoles, and other substances that cause bad breath.
2. Brush teeth twice a day, before going to bed and upon waking up； 3. Brush your teeth or at least rinse your mouth after each meal ； 11. Take traditional Chinese patent medicines to regulate the body and eliminate stomach heat ； 12. Exercise to strengthen the body. Causes of bad breath: The first reason is the fermentation of food residues in the mouth, which results in the formation of **substances**. The second type is inflammation in the mouth, such as periodontitis and gingivitis. The third cause of bad breath is what people often refer to as \"heat in the stomach and intestines, or excessive stomach fire.\" The groups at high risk are divided into two categories: those who stay up late for long periods and lack sleep, and the elderly. 1. Pay attention to balancing work and rest, avoid getting cold, and stay in bed during the acute phase. 2. Drink plenty of light salt water and boiled water regularly. In daily life, tea can also be consumed as a beverage; it helps to prevent and treat bad breath, regulate the balance of the body’s functions, reduce inflammation and combat bacteria, clear heat and toxins, and clean the mouth. Enhances the body’s resistance. Such herbal tea blends mainly include wild chrysanthemum, Patrinia scabiosaefolia, Quercus acutissima, honeysuckle, and Coptis chinensis. 3. Avoid tobacco, alcohol, spicy, overly cold, and overly hot irritating foods. Tobacco contains harmful substances such as nicotine; smoking can cause bad breath. In addition, respiratory infections lead to dryness in the mouth, and a decrease in saliva further exacerbates bad breath. 4. Pay attention to oral hygiene and develop the habit of rinsing your mouth after meals to prevent bacteria from growing. 5. Foods such as amaranth, honey, tomatoes, carambola, lemons, green plums, kelp, radishes, sesame, raw pears, water chestnuts, Imperata cylindrica rhizomes, and sugarcane have the effect of reducing heat and clearing fire, as well as nourishing the yin fluids of the lungs and kidneys; they can be consumed in appropriate amounts. 6. Gargle. Gargling can significantly reduce volatile sulfur compound levels and odor scores, making it effective against bad breath. An ideal deodorant product should have a low concentration, be effective, maintain its effective concentration in the mouth for an extended period of time, and have no serious side effects. In fact, few products meet these conditions. Gargles containing bactericidal agents have a short duration of action; long-term use can easily lead to an imbalance in the oral bacterial flora, making them an unsuitable solution for preventing bad breath. Mouthwashes containing all-plant antimicrobial ingredients are considered safe and effective; however, there is still a lack of substantial research data to support this. 7. Control of systemic diseases. For bad breath caused by systemic diseases, it is very important to treat and control the underlying disease. For patients with gastrointestinal disorders, in addition to treating the underlying causes of their condition, it is also important to address the imbalance in the intestinal flora. Maintaining a healthy balance of intestinal bacteria is beneficial for the recovery from gastrointestinal disorders and for controlling bad breath. 8. Maintain a regular diet with balanced nutrition, and consume more vegetables and fruits that are rich in acids and vitamins. Great care is also taken to maintain oral hygiene, by brushing and rinsing the mouth morning and evening, and gently cleaning the tongue coating using a toothbrush or a clean towel. Be sure to have regular dental check-ups, pay attention to how to prevent bad breath, and avoid eating foods with strong flavors. Drinking plenty of water daily to keep the mouth moist can help prevent bad breath.