Fight off the curse of the bad breath. Please...
The NOX office isn't exactly a haven for hygiene. Sure, we wash all the bits we're supposed to once in a while, but we firmly believe in the 5-second rule if we drop food on the ground, and give the IT guy a pained look when he suggests we clean the coffee/tea/gravel stains off our keyboards. We also think that a nice muddy cup of coffee in the morning is enough to kill bad breath – or at least thought, since the month of fasting has since changed our mind. With the vomit-inducing funk still in the back of our throat (note to readers: the combination of not eating and not brushing results in the stench of a rancid dragon corpse), we present you with simple guidelines to follow for mountain spring breath.
The obvious
Brushing: And we mean first thing in the morning. Before you have your coffee and that greasy egg sandwich, spend at least two minutes brushing your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste – which helps fight tooth decay – and then your tongue and the roof of your mouth. It's much more effective to get rid of last nights odour-causing bacteria before you start your day.
Our favourite: Parodontax Fluoride, 4.50 JDs for 75ml
A little extra
Flossing: Your toothbrush can never reach under your gum line, where there is plenty of bacteria that produces acid – and therefore bad breath. Flossing once a day helps keep your gums healthy and fresh as a daisy, and has the added bonus of fighting off – indirectly – heart complications since gum disease may lead to heart complications.
Our favourite: Oral B Essential Floss, 2.50 JDs
Nitty gritty
Scraping: If brushing and flossing aren't doing the trick, go hunting for a tongue scraper, or one that's featured on the toothbrush itself. Reach as far back as you can, then pull forward, scraping your tongue. But remember to be gentle: overscraping can cause "hairy tongue", which would be infinitely more difficult to get rid of...
Our favourite: Colgate 360 toothbrush, 3.75 JDs
At the office
Chewing: After you've snacked at your desk, if you don't remove the offending chunks within several hours, the bad bacteria in your mouth will begin the decay process. And the foul smell. Keep some sugar-free gum handy, since chewing produces saliva, which in turn helps kill off the offending bacteria.
Our favourite: Anything that isn't fruity...
