While breath mints are handy to pop in your mouth, they do not benefit you in the long term. They contain sugar, which is detrimental to your teeth. After you consume a breath mint, the bacteria in your mouth eat that sugar off your teeth and excrete acids that penetrate and damage your enamel. As this continues, cavities form. While eating a breath mint may seem like a short-term solution, they come with long-term problems due to the sugar content.
Find an Alternative to Breath Mints
It may not be easy to find an alternative to breath mints, but we want to encourage you to do so. The easiest way to combat bad breath is to brush your teeth. The bad bacteria in your mouth fueling your foul breath can be easily removed when you brush your teeth. In addition, we suggest patients use a tongue scraper. This handy tool is specifically made to remove bacteria from your tongue, which is often the source of bad breath. Lastly, we encourage you to use alcohol-free fluoridated mouthwash. This will leave your mouth feeling fresh. If this seems overwhelming, we simply suggest you pack a travel-sized toothbrush and toothpaste in your purse or bag.
Call us to Schedule Your Next Appointment
It could be that you are reading this article, and you realize that you have enjoyed a lifetime of sucking on breath mints. If that is the case, it may take a while to change your habit. The first thing you should do is contact our office for a dental cleaning and exam. We need to look and see if you have any tooth decay as a result of breath mints or other sugary habits. We can also help you identify other ways of combatting bad breath. Call our office today to schedule your next appointment. We will not judge you for consuming breath mints; chances are our entire staff has had them at one point in our lives as well!
While breath mints are handy to pop in your mouth, they do not benefit you in the long term. They contain sugar, which is detrimental to your teeth. After you consume a breath mint, the bacteria in your mouth eat that sugar off your teeth and excrete acids that penetrate and damage your enamel. As this continues, cavities form. While eating a breath mint may seem like a short-term solution, they come with long-term problems due to the sugar content.