Are you that person? Do people start talking to you and quickly end the conversation? When you step forward or get close to talk to someone, does he or she take a step back? While you may be a brilliant, engaging conversationalist, it just might be that your breath is driving people away. Perhaps you need to tend to your oral hygiene – asap.

If you’ve tried brushing, flossing, mouthwash and mints, but fresh breath is still elusive, try changing your diet up a bit. Did you know you can banish bad breath by eating certain foods? Try this tips:

Veg out with fresh veggies & greens. Greens encourage a more alkaline atmosphere, so the bad-breath-causing acid in your body balances out. Add healthy carbs like broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes because they balance out the fats. Fats are bad because when they break down, they create ketones, which sit in your stomach and ferment. The odor of ketones then comes back up through your esophagus and can stick to your tongue. Veggies also help produce more saliva, which washes away food debris and bacteria in the mouth.

Drink water, not sugar. Water lubricates you mouth, keeping bacteria at bay, and helps your body function normally. Soda, coffee, sports drinks and even some teas contain acids, which can wear away the enamel on your teeth and leave you with the opposite of fresh breath. Try drinking 48 ounces of water a day instead.

Brush with hard, crunchy foods. You can’t get to your toothbrush right now? That’s ok, grab an apple, carrot or celery. Hard, crunchy foods such as those act as a natural toothbrush, removing food caught between your teeth and scrubbing away bacteria.

Fruits are your friends. Fruits help produce saliva, which is essential to nourishing and rebalancing the mouth’s natural ecology. Here’s a breakdown of the best fruits to eat this summer to bust bad breath:

  • Oranges, melons and berries: They are particularly rich in vitamin C, which helps control bacteria and fight gum disease and gingivitis, which causes bad breath.
  • Watermelon: This wonder fruit is 92% water, which dilutes the sugars it contains and spurs saliva flow, helping to protect teeth from bacteria.
  • Strawberries: They contain malic acid, which is a natural enamel brightener. So strawberries work to remove stains on your teeth.
  • Pears: Its fibrous consistency stimulates saliva production and lowers plaque levels in the mouth.
  • Apples: Apples are fibrous, too, cleaning the surface of your teeth as you eat. This fruit also dislodges newly formed dental plaque.

Don’t forget the nuts. Nuts work a lot like fruits and veggies: They act like tiny toothbrushes on your teeth and have been proven to prevent odor-causing bacteria from sticking to teeth.

Chew on fresh mint leaves or parsley. Gum and mints only mask bad breath. If your breath is especially awful, try going green. Mint helps give you fresh breath, and parsley contains chlorophyll, which works to reduce volatile sulphur compounds that cause a rotten egg or barnyard smell. Yuck!

Along with eating healthy, natural foods and brushing and flossing, try adding a quality tongue cleaner to your oral health regimen. After all, a surprising 75% of bad breath originates from plaque on the tongue, and brushing, flossing and rinsing only reduces bad breath by 25%.

A quality tongue cleaner can remove the bacteria that causes bad breath and improves oral health. Use the SleepRight Tongue Cleaner and Scraper as part of your daily hygiene regimen this summer. Visit www.sleepright.com/tongue-cleaner. Don’t be that person everyone avoids at cookouts and pool parties, get your bad breath in check! Of course, besides potentially ostracizing you this summer, the bacteria and acids that cause bad breath also may be damaging your teeth, so cleaning up your mouth and working toward fresh breath are critical. If your bad breath cannot be cured by good oral hygiene and changing your diet, it may be caused by something more serious like gum disease, so call your dentist.