Good oral hygiene should be maintained to help prevent serious problems in the future including:

• Plaque build-up – this can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque is the sticky substance that forms on your teeth and gums. It is made up of minerals, bacteria and other micro-organisms.

• Tooth decay – plaque attaches to the enamel surface of our teeth, converting sugars in our foods into acids. These acids attack and erode the tooth surface which can lead to cavities.

• Gum problems – the micro-organisms in plaque release enzymes and other substances that irritate and damage the gums.

Aside from these more serious oral problems, bad breath (or halitosis) can also be an embarrassing and ongoing problem. Most bad breath starts in the mouth. In fact, the major causes of bad breath are the millions of bacteria that live on the tongue. The bacteria in your mouth and on your tongue feed on decaying food and other debris, producing volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) – a major cause of halitosis .

Bad breath causing bacteria also live in plaque on and around the teeth. Bad breath tends to increase as the mouth dries out. This often occurs overnight when the flow of saliva is reduced, hence ‘morning breath’ .