Caring for an Elderly Parent With Special Dental Needs
Controlling Breath Issues To Give Your Customers A More Pleasant Experience
Joe Lawrence
If you do face-to-face customer service, one way to help them have a good experience with you is to manage your breath odor. Bad breath could send them away from you to give you a bad review, even though the service you offered was good. Here are a few simple tips to keep your breath clean smelling and less offensive to your customers.
1. Watch what you eat and when.
Having a lunch containing pungent foods, such as onions or garlic, won't please the customers you work with after your lunch. These foods stay active in your stomach for hours after you've eaten them. The aroma of them makes its way up into your throat to foul your breath for the rest of the day. Brushing and using mouthwash after you eat only temporarily prevents the odor. Save these foods for a meal after your shift.
2. Make sure to clean your tongue as part of your daily oral hygiene routine.
Your tongue contains tiny bumps, ridges and crevices that are helpful for moving food around in your mouth. These structures also give odor-producing bacteria a place to hide. Brushing your teeth and flossing doesn't touch these bacteria. You have to remove the bacteria from your tongue as part of your daily dental habits. Use your toothbrush to gently scrub the top and sides of your tongue for a few seconds. Or have your family dentist show you how to use a tongue scraper to remove bacteria. Either way, you'll remove more of the bacteria in your mouth that can cause bad breath.
3. Use a mouthwash that's powerful enough for your needs.
Make sure your mouthwash says that it's anti-microbial so it actually kills bacteria and doesn't just make your mouth minty-fresh for a few minutes. If you have a persistent problem with bad breath, ask your dentist for a prescription-strength mouthwash. These kill even more bacteria in your mouth to give you longer protection from a foul odor.
4. Manage any heartburn you have after eating.
If you're prone to having heartburn after you eat certain foods, be proactive about it so it doesn't contribute to your bad breath. Stomach acid can make its way back up into the esophagus and into the back of your throat to cause a foul odor. For a mild case of heartburn, simple over-the-counter antacids may be sufficient. For severe cases, ask your doctor for a prescription-strength medication that you'll take before you eat to reduce the amount of stomach acid that is produced.
5. Moisten your mouth frequently.
A dry mouth can develop a bad odor. If you tend to have a dry mouth, have a water bottle handy from which you can take sips throughout the day. If you enjoy chewing gum, that will also keep your mouth moist, but ask your dentist to recommend sugar-free varieties to prevent tooth decay from the sugar-filled gum.
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Caring for an elderly parent tends to be tough enough without the added stress of dealing with dental implants or dentures. But, the prospect is not the end of the world—there are many things you can do to ensure that your parent's dental health is not compromised without having to spend a lot of personal time doing the care yourself. Between working with the right dentist, hiring a service provider for part time work, and giving your parent the tools he or she needs to care for his or her own dental health at home, you'll find that dental health for your loved one isn't so tough or time consuming after all. Hopefully you are able to get the support and information you need right here.