There’s no faster way to ruin a first impression than bad breath. Even if you take good care of your oral health, you may have to meet someone after a meal, or just need to freshen up your breath during the day.
The two most common ways to do that are breath mints and mint gum. Both of these can freshen your breath, but they both have things to consider when it comes to your oral health. Here’s how to pick between these two, and what to keep in mind to protect your teeth.
Watch Out for Sugar!
Before we get into comparison, it’s worth noting that one of the most important things when freshening your breath is to watch out for the sugar often packed into these products. Many breath mints actually contain more sugar than candy!
If you aren’t careful, the sugar in these mints can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease. Funnily enough, this can actually make your breath worse in the long term. If you want to protect your oral health, it’s best to find xylitol-sweetened mints that won’t feed the bacteria in your mouth.
Breath Mints or Chewing Gum?
So long as you’re cautious about how much sugar you’re consuming, you can make an informed decision between gum and mints to freshen your breath. Both of these have been proven to stimulate saliva, which can improve the mouth’s ability to clean itself. In this way, both of these could actually help you stave off gum disease.
However, between the two of them, minty gum has the additional benefit of mechanically removing food particles from between your teeth, which may make it the better pick for your oral health.
That said, excessive gum chewing can potentially lead to tooth wear and jaw soreness, so it’s recommended that you refrain from chewing it any longer than 15 minutes at a time. If you need more freshness past that point, you may want to switch to sugar-free mints.
If you find that you often suffer from bad breath, you may be dealing with gum disease. If you want your breath to be fresher in the long term, you may want to talk to your dentist about helping you to address this underlying issue.
About Our Practice
At Longmont Complete Dentistry, we believe that the best dental care comes from putting our patients at the center of everything we do. Whether you need a simple cleaning or a complete set of dentures, we can guarantee that you’ll get the high-quality, attentive dental care that you deserve. We offer all this in an office environment that’s sure to put you completely at ease.
If you have any questions about how you can make the best impression with your smile, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (303) 772-7000.