Can a banana ban a baby's bad breath?

Having bad breath is no fun, no matter what age you are. The vivid stink of oral odor can foul up anyone's mood, hence the increasing interest in all-natural products designed to treat halitosis. However, even the best specialty breath fresheners are generally not intended for use by babies. So if your tiny tot has raging halitosis, what are you to do?

Some experts suggest looking into what you're feeding your baby. If your child has a mild allergy to a certain food, or if something doesn't agree with their tummy, you may find yourself faced with the prospect of baby bad breath.

The health website Baby Center explains that bad breath can be a sign that your child has a dry mouth, since dryness can allow bacteria to grow out of control. Likewise, infant halitosis may be caused by thumb-sucking, food particles or even an object (say, a pea or a bean) being stuck up a child's nose.

Even though specialty breath fresheners could clear up dryness and poor oral healthy in a jiffy, it's best to stick to water and toothpaste until a child is a little older. Likewise, giving a baby berries or bananas may reduce the severity of halitosis.

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that bananas work about half as well as milk in removing certain volatile sulfur compounds from the mouth.

Added to that, babies often love bananas! However, that does not mean eating a banana will cure your child's bad breath - or yours, for that matter. A recent posting on the parenting website Babble complained that bananas may occasionally cause baby bad breath rather than clearing it up.

If your baby has chronic halitosis, consider taking them to see a physician. If you've got it, you may want to try a specialty breath freshener.