Studies indicate that specialty rinses can neutralize morning breath

It's not easy waking up with morning breath every day. This form of halitosis is not only pungent but also nearly impossible to prevent. After all, how are you supposed to train your mouth to stay closed all night?

Fortunately, research has shown that certain specialty breath freshening products may be able to dramatically reduce the scent of morning breath, both immediately (by freshening your breath) and over time (by eliminating the many of the microorganisms that cause halitosis).

A study published in the Journal of Periodontology found that mouth rinses containing chlorhexadine were able to significantly reduce the levels of bacteria in the mouths of participants with morning breath.

Likewise, several specialty mouthwashes were able to drastically reduce the amount of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) measured on volunteers' exhaled air.

Another study appearing in the Journal of Dental Research came to similar conclusions. Researchers from the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center found that eating, brushing one's tongue or gargling with an oxygenating mouthwash reduced the severity of bad breath by neutralizing VSCs.

What are VSCs? They are the molecules that give morning breath - and all halitosis, for that matter - its unpleasant smell. The compounds are sulfur-based, giving them their particularly sour, rotten or rancid aromas.

If you sleep with your mouth open, the resulting oral dryness allows microbes to multiply. Without cleansing saliva to get rid of them, these bacteria quickly coat your tongue with a thick layer of slime, called a biofilm. This gunk gives off VSC, and voila! You have morning breath.

One of the most effective remedies is to rinse with a mouth-moistening specialty breath freshener as soon as you wake up. This can kill bacteria, neutralize VSCs and leave your palate smelling as clean and fresh as it does after you brush your teeth.