Is your breath starting to smell a little pungent? Although what you're experiencing is common, it certainly isn't pleasant. Bad breath can leave you feeling self-conscious and it can act as a sign of an underlying problem. By understanding some of its common causes, you can figure out how to fix them.

Dehydrating Food and Drink

If you're using coffee to get you through the day and you love to add salt to your food, you're probably contributing to your bad breath. Foods that dehydrate you are depriving your mouth of the saliva it relies on to wash bacteria away. The dryer your mouth is, the easier it becomes for bacteria to survive. Try adjusting your eating and drinking habits accordingly, and make sure you refresh yourself with water throughout the day.

Poor Oral Hygiene

You may find that your oral hygiene routine isn't vigorous enough. The aim of a good oral hygiene routine is to eliminate the food and drink that encourage stink-causing bacteria to thrive. While you may brush your teeth twice a day, can you be sure that you're brushing hard enough? And, are you adding mouthwash and flossing to the mix? Mouthwash flushes away food particles and flossing reaches the areas that your toothbrush may neglect. Try upgrading your oral hygiene routine to banish bad breath.

Skipping Dental Appointments

Sometimes, even the best oral hygiene routines can't keep problems at bay altogether. If you're not routinely using dental services, you may be missing problems that your dentist could solve easily. For example, early-stage gum disease can cause bad breath, and if you leave it to flourish, the problem only gets worse. Attending dental appointments twice a year gives you a chance to discover potential issues while they're easy to treat.

Certain Fad Diets

Crash dieting or following plans such as the keto diet can also generate bad breath. While your body fights to burn fat for energy, you'll produce more ketones. As ketones have a fairly pungent smell, this can result in bad breath. To offset the issue, try a diet with a balanced amount of nutrients and avoid crash dieting. Not only will your breath smell nicer, but you'll find that the results are more sustainable. 

Overall, if your efforts to resolve your bad breath at home aren't working, you need to see a dentist. They can diagnose and treat causative oral health conditions, and they'll refer you to your doctor if they suspect other medical issues are at play.