Dental Care

1) Drink Lots Of Water. Your body quits producing saliva when you don’t eat. The less you eat the dryer your mouth gets, so it is necessary to drink plenty of water to prevent bacteria from building up in your mouth. You will find that if you stay hydrated you will have more energy too, which you need when starting a new diet of any kind.

2) Keep Up With A Good Oral Health Routine. Even though you may still experience keto breath after brushing, if you are not producing much saliva, it is a good idea to brush after every meal. It is also very important to floss and even use an alcohol-free mouthwash daily. Mouthwashes with alcohol tend to have a drying effect, so avoid those, and to keep your mouth from getting dry between brushing, and to freshen your breath further, try chewing some sugar-free gum.

3) Take It Slow. Rather than jumping all in, gradually cut carbs out of your diet rather than cut them out drastically. By doing this, it gives your body time to adjust to the change. You are basically giving yourself time to “adapt” and therefore may by-pass bad breath.

4) Keep Stress Levels Down. Finally, de-stress yourself. This is always important, but especially so when going on the keto diet. Stress not only reduces the flow of saliva (think of getting dry mouth when going to talk to the boss), but it also slows digestion of proteins. Anxiety can also cause acid-reflux, which is known to cause bad breath. Finding ways to de-stress is important when starting a new diet, so learn techniques for doing this if you haven’t already.

While bad breath may be embarrassing, it may be a great way to achieve and maintain overall health. Your dentist can give you a head start with a complete teeth cleaning