The type of self-help treatment will depend on the cause and severity, some patients may need to improve their oral hygiene whereas others may just want to mask or disguise their bad breath.

There are also a number of products available and which one a patient chooses will depend on the cause of their bad breath and the impact of their lifestyle. There are three levels of treatment:

Level One

There are a number of ways to disguise bad breath caused by strong smelling food, drink and smoking. These treatments are temporary and therefore should only be recommended to people that have a mild problem which is created by one of the causes mentioned above. Level one treatments are not for long term use or for people where bad breath is having an impact on their lifestyle.

Chewing gum, lozenges or mints - some people chew sugar-free gum, lozenges or mints after meals as this increases the flow of saliva which in turn helps to clean the mouth. This does not directly reduce bad breath but can reduce the causes.

Breath-fresheners - available in a number of formats, people use these are they are convenient but they only offer a temporary solution.