What is Garlic Breath ?

                       Garlic breath as the name suggests occurs because of eating garlic. Generally eating garlic does not causes bad breath but in few people after the intake of garlic, the compounds of garlic react with bacterial residues in the oral cavity leading to production of highly bad smell form the mouth. Garlic breath differs from routine bad breath as in garlic breath the foul odour is more pungent and unbearable. One of the problems with garlic breath is that you are unable to smell the breath yourself, so often you have no idea if your breath smells or not.   

                 People consider this symptom very mild and relate it to the usage of garlic only. So after eating garlic they use mint and other mouth fresheners to avoid this bad smell. Other method of avoiding garlic breath involves drinking milk after garlic intake because milk neutralizes the smell producing compounds. Some people even chew parsley and cardamom to mask the foul smell of garlic breath. But this is only a temporary solution and does not treat the underlying cause that is bacterial growth.

                          Bacterial colonies in the oral cavity are the major cause for this symptom. So if we control colonization of microbial flora in the oral cavity, then the patients can eat garlic easily with reduced symptoms of garlic breath. Because avoiding garlic intake is not suggested to eradicate this problem because garlic provides a lot of health benefits like it helps in reducing cholesterol , triglycerides , low density lipoprotein and also have anti cancer properties. So instead of avoiding garlic, medical attention should be considered for reducing bacterial growth in the mouth. Mouth washes containing antibacterial should be used for gargling after every food meal. It may appear difficult in the initial stage but its long term benefits have documented in various dental journals. Using a tongue cleaner also help in removing the bacterial colony from the tongue.