Keeping Your Breath Fresh During Allergy Season

Spring is always a welcome season after long New England winters. Blooming trees, green grass, and fresh flowers are a refreshing sight, but also a warning that allergy season has arrived. Allergies are the daily nuisance that many of us are intimately familiar with for several months in the spring season, but many people don’t know that their allergies are also the cause of their seasonal bad breath. The good news is that there are a few simple solutions that are easily accessible that can prevent and correct this unwanted side effect of seasonal allergies.

During allergy season, regular brushing and flossing may not be enough to ward off bad breath. Saliva is essential to a keeping our mouths healthy, so even in a clean mouth, lack of saliva and dry mouth can promote growth of bacteria that produce bad breath odors. Mouth breathing occurs naturally at night and is often the cause of classic “morning breath”. But during allergy season, mouth breathing often becomes excessive and creates an ideal environment for bad breath bacteria. In addition, many allergy medications work by reducing secretions (watery eyes, running nose, etc.) and cause dry mouth as a major side effect.

Since dry mouth is the main culprit of seasonal allergy induced bad breath, creating more saliva is the key to combating it. Xylitol is a natural sugar substitute that promotes saliva secretion and also, according to some research, decreases the incidence of cavities. Xylitol can be found in mints and lozenges, but xylitol gum is particularly effective in fighting bad breath because the act of chewing also independently encourages saliva production. Although naturally inducing saliva production is preferred, there are also saliva replacement products that can help alleviate dry mouth and the associated bad breath. Often packaged as a mouth rinse or spray, these products help mimic the protective effects of saliva.

There are many different xylitol and saliva replacement products on the market that are effective in fighting seasonal allergy induced dry mouth and bad breath. Looking for the American Dental Association (ADA) seal can guide your search for a trustworthy product and always make sure that the product is sugar-free. So, if your seasonal allergies are giving you less than spring fresh breath, the solution could be as simple as chewing a couple sticks of sugar free gum!