What’s that smell?
If brushing, flossing and rinsing aren’t making your breath any fresher, some other reasons may be the real reasons behind your problem. Here’s a look at one:

Your hormones are yo-yoing
For mums-to-be, the gums become unusually susceptible to inflammation due to the hormonal changes, says Dr Steven Ang, dental surgeon at the Smile Division Dental Surgeons. These hormonal changes increase blood flow to the gum tissue, which makes it more sensitive, irritable and swollen. Women who are taking birth control pills or who are taking hormone therapy for menopause tend to have more of a breath problem as well because hormone changes decrease saliva production.

Solutions: Get enough vitamin D. If you’ve been cooping yourself indoors, start coming out for a little light for just 10 to 15 minutes a day for at least twice a week. And floss at least once a day. In a New York University study, researchers found that dental flossing, together with tongue and teeth brushing, decreased gum bleeding by 38 per cent after two weeks. Consequently, bad breath was also reduced. Study participants who did not floss had a four per cent increase in gum bleeding sites.

Text: Ng Mei Yan

Read this article in the August issue of Shape. Out now at newsstands.