Having bad breath is a problem among adults. However, halitosis or bad breath can also affect children. This may be a shocker to some because children are known to have sweet smelling breath. When you find out that your child has foul smelling breath, it may signal that something is wrong.
Normally a person has bad breath when he or she has poor mouth hygiene causing bacteria to accumulate and produce awful smell. A person can also have bad breath due to dental carries and cavities. Some have halitosis because of diseases like stomach cancer, infections of the gums, fungal infection of the mouth, and tongue cancer.
It is important to find interventions to stop your little angel from having that foul smelling breath before it can affect their self confidence and relationships with their peers. Here are some of the tips to curb bad breath in your child:
- Look for the root cause why your child has bad breath and address them. Your child might have conditions that caused them to have bad breath. When these conditions are not treated, the tendency is your child will have recurring bad breath episodes.
- Ensure that your child is brushing his or her teeth the proper way. Make sure that they are using a soft bristled toothbrush and toothpaste suited for kids. Most children skip tooth brushing because the toothpaste they are using is too hard on their taste, and their toothbrush irritates them. It would be best that you demonstrate proper tooth brushing techniques to your child for them to follow.
- Supervise your child in doing proper flossing of teeth. This will help get rid of food particles that is not removed from brushing. If food stuck in between teeth is not removed, the bacteria will feed on them and destroy the teeth.
- See to it that your child brush their teeth every after meal.
- Make sure that your child drinks ample amount of water. Water helps increase saliva production that helps prevent bad breath and dry mouth.
- Make certain that your child eats breakfast. Not only it is considered to be the most important meal of the day, it is also good to combat bad breath. Breakfasts stimulate the production of saliva.
- Educate your child to rinse his or her mouth often. This will help get rid of mouth bacteria and promote flow of saliva.
- If your child already knows how to eat chewing gum, offer them sugar free gums. It can increase saliva production.
- Have regular appointments with the dentist. Dentists can assess the overall condition of the child’s oral health and suggest further treatments.
If your child’s bad breath is not relieved by doing these interventions, it is best to see your physician at once for further assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
