I actually wanted to type this in an anonymous account, but it wasn't worth the time to create it!  OK ... I might be the only Non-secretor out here who struggles with this ... BAD BREATH ... yes, halitosis.  I have it, I know why being a non-secretor makes it more of a challenge for me, sometimes I'm non-compliant and that doesn't help.  I do brush, I'm not perfect in regularity, but not awful either.  I buy Listerine breath strips and keep gum around and sometimes mints and I know all of those are really not good for me in some way or another ... but it really makes a difference in relationships of all kinds when you see others itch their nose when they talk to you and you assume it's because you forgot to put in a Listerine strip within 5 minutes.   I might sound paranoid, but have been blessed to have some very good people let me know it is a problem for me.  And I'm thankful I know from being a non-secretor that since I don't secrete my blood type antigens into my saliva, bad bacteria can much more quickly have a field day unless I'm vigilent and ... confession ... I'm not always vigilent, but I also don't want to obsess .... a fine line there.

OK ... so ... I do know not to eat sugary foods of any kind ... doesn't mean I don't ever, but I know that's a huge and fast builder of bad breath.

So do any other non-secretors with friends or relatives who will be direct with them suffer from this also?  And if so, what are your strategies.  I'm honestly not looking for a dental lecture from a secretor ... secretors have it better here, you have an extra layer of protection in your saliva ... be thankful!  But for those who have that same issue I do that bad breath can happen so often and so fast that you genuinely get caught more than you wish and that's only when you think to be aware of it because you don't smell your own breath the same as others do.

I'm single, never married and 45 and I do know that the breath has been an issue several times without me knowing it.  Even with good breath, no guarantees in relationships, but best to always always be neutral or positive in the breath area or you never get a chance to have a chance.

So any takers? Any sympathizers?  Advice?  Anything I haven't thought of?  Surgery?  (I would do it if it would work!)

Tom

us nonnies produce more plaque, so you should consider visiting your dentist twice a year instead of once, for dental prophylaxis

We non secretors may have a harder time keeping that "minty" fresh breath, but we do live longer and have way less major health issues. (As long as we follow the BTD)

My secretor status is unknown (assumed secretor) but when I had bad breadth, I increased the amount of daily water intake significantly and the problem was gone. There were several other persons (my mother and friends) whose secretor status is unclear, but I have asked them to increase the intake of water, particularly 250 ml of water in the early morning before the breakfast! It has worked. Sometime, when their intake of water reduces significantly for several days, they do get back bad breadth. For you, I would also advise one more intake: take a couple of garlic peels daily in the early morning with the additional water that I have recommended. Note that you will need more water on some days depending on the type of food. With those who were fine with the additional water intake (many of them took abnormally low quantity of water, as they never "felt" thirsty), it took three to four days for the bad breadth to vanish. Perhaps other nonnies will come up with better ideas too.

Going off gluten and sticking with the BTD and then GTD programs have taken care of the situation for me.  I think bad breath comes mostly from the stomach, and also from the tongue.  Certainly gum inflammation will cause it.

As Lola said, professional cleanings twice a year are a major blessing for us.  It made so much difference in the all-round health of my teeth and gums.  And I floss every night;  Brush once in morning and once at night, and slosh with water every time I eat anything in between.

I brush my tongue very well each time I brush, and slosh and gargle with warm salt water.  

Quoted Text

garlic peels daily in the early morning with the additional water

explain

Kumar:  I appreciate the thoughts on water.  I am extremely compliant on water!  I drink 40 ounces of mineral rich spring water from a 5-gallon glass bottle, bottled at the source within five minutes of waking each morning.  I only drink water or tea and an occassional all fruit or 100% fruit juice smoothie.  I alternate sparkling mineral water (San Pellegrino for price, Gerolsteiners when I splurge) and spring water from the glass bottle so I'm getting water all day, but I don't believe too much.  That's encouraging to know it helps!

Victoria:  I go to a biological dentist, infact my dentist is also a full out naturopath and is only one of five like him in the country.  I am not kidding about this, people fly in from all around the US and the world for dental appointments with him.  Very modest office, but he's excellent.  I see him more than twice a year so I'm doing good on this one too.  And my gums always score 1's and 2's which are good scores for no inflammation.  I'm told this is because of all the spring water and mineral water I drink.  Again more encouragement.  THanks!

You are SO fortunate to have a truly good dentist!  Most of us must make the best of what we have available to us.

p.s.
Another thought. . . I was once married to a type O who had a severe breath problem.  His breath always smelled acidic to me.  I have since learned that type O's have high stomach acid.  I don't know if this is relevant or not, but I hear people sometimes speak of testing for their acid/alkaline balance, using test strips to dip in saliva or urine.

Victoria,

Great connection about acidity.  I combat this best by drinking high mineral content water (very alkaline) and when I'm being good by eating a lot of veggies which are more naturally alkaline.  O's do make too much stomach acid especially in response to many processed foods and concentrated foods and candies today.  The water is my secret weapon.  Test your tap water and you may find it's acidic.  Your body can naturally adjust the acid/alkaline balance even without alkaline water and food sources, but it gives an assist and a boost to that effort when you drink mineral or spring water (tested with PH paper the first time) and eat more veggies!

My dentist is the best.  I always get a kick out of it when I'm at the counter paying and I hear the person next to me say they just drove from the airport after flying from Baltimore or somewhere far off from Texas or that they are headed back to the airport.  In my wildest dreams I never imagined people would make a day of it and fly cross country for a dental appointment!!

Tom

Lola,
Me and a friend of mine got high candida growth, when we did the spit testing in the morning. My friend's (he is a B type, suspected nonnie) candida went away in about a week when he took garlic peels everyday in the morning and yogurt regularly. Since I am used to taking yogurt daily, I also started eating garlic peels everyday and now in about 10 days, the candida is more or less over. So, candida, a possible source of bad breadth, is cleaned by garlic too. That is the explanation. And please do not ask me more questions as this is my recent experiment. In fact, I just completed the experiment this morning for myself!

by peels you mean that what covers each clove of garlic?

No Lola, I mean the garlic itself. May be I used the wrong word.

ok you mean peeled garlic cloves.....

how many do you eat raw?

you bite them or just swallow those whole?
I know, sorry, many questions!!

Make sure you're regular!  The only time my breath gets weird is when I eat something that slows down the bowels.  Also green tea helps with the good/bad bacteria balance.  Try drinking 3 or 4 cups a day.

Parsley is supposed to be good for balancing the alkaline/acid   I chew it after I eat my sardines at lunch...If I don't my breath can get fishy
Hmm I would've thought garlic would make you breath worse??!!

Tom

Seems like everyone else has got the suggestions stitched-up in terms of breath freshness, so I won't repeat them all again.

I would only add that my dentist and dental hygienist both recommend rinsing/swishing your mouth out with water whenever you've had anything that's not water to drink, in addition to after food.  This gets rid of any residue from the liquids that might feed bacteria. I always do this now.

I do hope your breath is better soon!

AP  

Lola,

Yea, peeled cloves. Very small ones (local Nepalese varieties) three at a time once a day. Large ones, one at a time. Small ones I swallowed. Large ones, I initially eat normally, (biting) but later started swallowing after breaking into smaller pieces. Swallowing I think is better as you avoid the strong mouth smell and pungent tear producing power of garlic. Depending on the concentration of the candida, one to two weeks might be required before the candida are cleared.

Is your bad breath from your mouth, sinuses or stomach? I seem to have a very particular nose about smells (When I run the dog in the morning, I can smell a nasty moose at least a kilometer away, the dog smells it 2 km away)

I generally floss a few times per day in addition to brushing to get rid of the mouth smells. I also get my teeth cleaned at least a couple times per year by the dentist.  

My mother had a bad breath that emanated from her stomach, turns out she had ulcers and a hernia, once those were fixed no bad smells.

My A warrior husband has a weird smell that comes from his sinuses when he eats too much meat or indulges in booze and cigars, it seems to take weeks to clear from his system.

My oldest son is really thin and gets smelly when he doesn't eat.  He gets the ketone/something rotten somewhere smell. When he eats, it goes away. I used to get that smell when I used to get stressed out and didn't eat 3 meals a day.

Bad breathe is a symptom of something else.  Like acne it can have many causes.

I would get a breathe hydrogen test and see if you have bacterial overgrowth, somewhere in your gut.

Great thread, and very good suggestions!

I am back to oil pulling again, since brushing is too painful.  Twenty minutes of olive oil in the morning will hopefully kill off enough germs to stop any further damage, and rid me of the smell.

And don't forget the tongue.  It's a perfect little bed for bacteria to snuggle down in and procreate.  

Many people use tongue scrapers and they seem to work well.  I've never been comfortable with them, so I brush my tongue after I brush my teeth, until it is completely clean. If you use the brush, it's important to rinse the brush very well under hot running water after using.

Dairy plugs up my sinuses, which leads to bad breath.  Sometimes the stuffy nose is accompanied by yellowy, rotten smelling chunks of stuff imbedded in my tonsils that I have to dig out with a baby spoon.  They are seriously nasty!!!  You know your breath is bad when it wakes you up at night.

I get a nasty coating on my tongue when I eat wheat that causes bad breath, too.  I just brush my tongue whenever I brush my teeth, and then run my toothbrush through the dishwasher to kill all the germs.

http://www.tonsilstones.com/

Tonsil stones..