How to maintain fresh breath throughout the day

 

 

There are over two dozens of hours in a day- that’s a pretty long time to expect a once-off teeth-brushing to take care off.

 

Not even mouthwash and flosses are going to help you here.

 

Freshness of breath wanes as the day progresses and something has to be done to restore it, at least according to social standards.

 

Mint gums, sweets and lozenges are common alternatives but the desired effect of these too soon fade away, especially if you use them just after a spicy meal.

 

By popular hygiene, brushing twice in a day- at morning and at night- takes care of mouth odour.

 

But what is not taken into consideration is the accurate time when another brushing is due.

 

Let’s break it down.

 

The average person is awake by 5 am and brushes his/her teeth at this time.

 

On average, 15 hours of the daily 24 hours is the ‘awake, active and social hours’ (between 5 am and 10pm).

 

If you brush just in the morning and before going to bed at the above hours (and you absolutely should), you spend more hours (awake, active and social hours) with a stale breath than asleep (there are only 7 hours between bedtime and awake time using the above hours).

 

So, the most effective tactic to employ is to brush again at the median time of the active hours and this time is between 1 pm and 2 pm, typical break time period in most organisations.

 

I call it the ‘break brush’.

It is more effective than all the sweets and chewing gums combined.

 

These things merely mask mouth odour but brushing not only removes tartar and food particles but also restores freshness and inevitably, confidence.

 

If in doubt, have a breath test- breathe out through your mouth into the hollow of your palm and smell your breath.

 

Have a travel size toothbrush and toothpaste in your bag or in the office for this purpose.

 

You don’t necessarily have to cause a scene in the office with the loud strokes of the bristles against your teeth (By the way, this is a desperado kind of approach towards mouth hygiene so permit the extremity if you so see it as such).

 

Be as discreet as the office bathroom space permits, be quick and be done!

 

Good luck.