Natural Remedy for Dry Mouth & Bad Breath

Lick your hand, then sniff your saliva. This is how you can tell if you have bad breath, according to cardiovascular surgeon, author and talk show host, Mehmet Oz, M.D. If you have dry mouth, which leads to bad breath, you're not producing enough saliva which may indicate a serious health condition or disease. Dry mouth can have many causes. Practice natural ways to produce more saliva, eliminate bad breath and restore your body to health.

Hygiene

Dry mouth can come from not drinking enough water. Drink half your weight in ounces of water daily to keep your mouth moist at all times. For example, if you weigh 160 lb., drink 80 oz. of water spread throughout the day. Also, breathe in through your nose, rather than your mouth.

Use a tongue scraper along the length of your tongue daily. This removes much of the odor-causing bacteria from your tongue. Rinse your mouth with an alcohol-free mouthwash. Alcohol causes dry mouth, leaving your mouth open to harmful bacteria. Brush your teeth with a soft toothbrush in the morning, after each meal, and before bedtime. Flossbetween your teeth daily, including between your gums and teeth.

Diet

Add more dark-green vegetables to your diet each day, like romaine lettuce, kale and spinach to cleanse your body internally. Chlorophyll gives green vegetables their green color and is a natural deodorant for your body, eliminating bad breath. Adding more green vegetables also increases the alkalinity or pH of your saliva and body. Dry mouth and bad breath come from a more acidic body, attracting harmful bacteria and disease.

Take chlorophyll supplements each day to cleanse your body internally and prevent bad breath. Buy chlorophyll in tablet, capsule, powder, and liquid form at a natural health food store or online.

Chew on springs of parsley to keep your breath fresh. Also, chew sugar-free gum (sugarless gum contains some sugar) to stimulate saliva flow in your mouth.

Add cayenne pepper to your meals or even sprinkle a little on your tongue. Cayenne pepper naturally stimulates saliva flow. Drink green tea or take green tea extract, to help reduce dry mouth.

Stimulate saliva flow also by drinking ginger tea. Grate 1 tsp. of ginger root and stir it into a cup of hot water. Drink after steeping for two minutes. Buy ginger tea bags at a health food store or online. Sip slippery elm tea also to increase saliva flow, found at health food stores in loose or in tea bags.

Environment

Use a humidifier in your home. The air can become very dry because of heating in the winter, contributing to dry mouth. During the summer, air conditioners also create dry environments.

Warnings

Consult your doctor if you have dry mouth. Dry mouth can indicate a serious disease, a prescription drug side effect or salivary gland trauma called, Sjogren's disease.

Avoid using decongestants as they dry out your mouth.

Avoid refined sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and caffeinated beverages--they contribute to dry mouth and bad breath.