Bad breath

You want to have breath like on the toothpaste adverts!

We all know foods like garlic can cause temporary bad breath. What you should be more worried about is a persistent problem. This is most commonly caused by poor teeth cleaning, resulting in gum disease.

It is really important you clean your teeth thoroughly, brushing your gums and tongue as well. Get into all the difficult areas with a small-headed brush. You can chew a disclosing tablet to see if you have missed any areas of your mouth.

Unfortunately just sucking mints won't work as an antidote to bad breath - in fact the mints give more food to the bugs that can cause bad breath in the first place making things worse and they can cause decay too.

If you have had something to eat that makes your breath smell, the best thing is to chew some sugar-free gum.

Oh and smoking! Bad breath GUARANTEED! Don't do it if you want your breath to smell fresh.