If you suffer from bad breath one of the very first things you may be tempted to do is reach for the nearest bottle of mouthwash to try and get rid of that awful stench coming from your mouth.

But did you know that many regular mouthwashes may not actually cure your halitosis? And in fact, they could make the problem even worse!

Research studies suggest that most mouthrinses are only really effective in masking the symptoms of bad breath temporarily, and don’t actually tackle the root cause of the vast majority of bad breath cases – i.e. oral bacteria.

When these bacteria are present in normal amounts, there’s not usually a problem. But when they multiply in excessive numbers, halitosis can occur.

The reason why mouthwashes can actually make your breath smell even worse is that most of them contain quite large amounts of alcohol – as much as up to 25% in some of the leading brands.

Alcohol is a dessicant, i.e. a drying agent. When you take a swig of your mouthwash it may initially nuke some of these oral bacteria but then it quickly causes your mouth to dry out, in turn creating exactly the kind of conditions the bacteria flourish in, and so the vicious cycle continues…

Instead of settling for a temporary burst of minty freshness, you might be better off looking at ways to actually tackle these bad breath bacteria if you’re serious about getting rid of halitosis for good.

If you’re interested in learning more, www.cure-your-bad-breath.com has lots of articles on this particular issue, as well as info on other types of treatments such as herbal and cheap home remedies for bad breath.