Stick to all-natural toothpaste brands for bad breath

In a recent article, our own Dr. Katz talked about the ingredients you should avoid at all costs when browsing through toothpaste brands. Now, springboarding off that topic, we'd like to list the all-natural substances that you want to find in a good toothpaste.

Armed with this list, you can shop online for toothpaste brands knowing that you'll come away with a real winner.

The best, most effective odor-fighting ingredients you'll find in toothpastes are:

- Purified water: It may sound like non-ingredient, something to mix everything else into, but pure, clean water is an indispensable part of any all-natural toothpaste. That's because moisture is the enemy of anaerobic bacteria, which are the odor-producing microbes that live in your mouth. These little creatures love dryness, which is why your breath gets so bad after sleeping with your mouth open. To fight halitosis without irritating the delicate tissue of your cheeks and gums, purified water is essential.

- Aloe: A great, all-natural antibacterial substance, aloe is mild, easy on the gums, cool and effective. Besides making it hard for microbes to grow on your palate, this ingredient may reduce the risk of infected oral cuts and scrapes.

- Xylitol: Cheap and ineffective toothpastes usually resort to using saccharin or aspartame to cover the taste of their irritants and synthetic chemicals. Rather than putting such stuff in your mouth, try toothpastes that use xylitol. This mild, all-natural sweetener comes from corn husks and berry skins.

- Peppermint oil: Sometimes it's best not to mess with a good thing. Peppermint oil has been used for centuries as an organic treatment for oral odor, and we're happy to include it in our toothpaste brands!