Homemade Cinnamon Mouthwash for Bad Breath
Bad breath (officially known as halitosis, if it’s chronic) is a problem that can be caused by anything from an over-load of bacteria in your mouth, underlying dental problems, or just a stinky snack with foods like garlic or onions. But that mouthwash that you buy at the store…why is it electric green or bright purple anyways? If you take a moment to read the label, you’ll find you’re not getting much more than a mouthful of chemicals, artificial coloring, and flavoring that does little to help your breath for more than a half hour or so. It may actually do more damage long-term-one of the most popular ingredients in mouthwash is ethyl alcohol, which can weaken the lining of your gums. Although inconclusive, Stanford University has conducted research that may link certain mouthwash to oral cancer. So the next time you need to freshen your breath, try making this DIY mouth rinse. It’s inexpensive, refreshing, and effective-not to mention that you know what’s in it, and can take comfort in the fact that its not the color of toxic sludge.
Ingredients: Cinnamon powder, honey, lemon juice, baking soda (optional).
Why cinnamon: Unlike mint, which tends to just mask the smell of bad breath, cinnamon actually gets rid of the odor by killing off odor-causing bacteria. The International Association for Dental Research found that people who chewed cinnamon gum had a 50% decrease in oral bacteria versus people who chewed mint.
Why honey: Honey makes everything taste better, but it also has antibacterial properties. If possible, get Manuka honey.
Manuka honey is from New Zealand, and contains 127 times the amount of methylglyoxa, which is the antimicrobial agent that kills off bacteria, than acacia honey (the regular sweet stuff you usually see.) Always try to get organic raw honey.
Why lemon juice: Lemon has a strong refreshing citrus scent that can help with nasty cases of bad breath.
Why baking soda: Baking soda wipes out nasty things (like bad bacteria) and has been shown to help whiten teeth.
You will need…
-2 lemons
-1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 ½ teaspoons of honey
-1 cup of warm water
-A bottle or jar with a tight fitting lid
Directions
Put ½ tablespoon of cinnamon into a bottle or jar with a tight fitting lid, and add the juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons along with 1 ½ teaspoons of honey. If you’d like you can also add in 1/2-1 teaspoon of baking soda and omit the honey, or use both. Pour 1 cup of very warm water (needed to melt the honey) into the jar, and stir well. When you need to freshen up your breath, give it a quick shake and swish/gargle 1-2 tablespoons for 1 minute.
P.S. Make sure to take a look at the Everyday Roots Book with 350+ pages of the best home remedies, natural beauty recipes, homemade cleaners and diy household products. View Remedies
By Claire Goodall
Claire is a lover of life, the natural world, and wild blueberries. On the weekend you can find her fiddling in the garden, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the great outdoors with her horse. Claire is very open-minded, ask her anything 🙂 Meet ClaireWe Want to Hear from You! Let us know which remedies work and do not work for you, ask a question or leave a comment:
Will this be ok out of the fridge, if so for how long?
Hi Rachel- We do suggest refrigerating it. Out of the refrigerator it will be good for about a week, but refrigerated it will last around 3 weeks.
I love that you guys are doing Thai for the benefit of others
I have bad breath and tried everything in the world, I hope this will work
Thank you for this! I am allergic to mint and get so frustrated at all the “mint” recipes for dental hygiene! !
Is there anything else I coukd use other than cinnamon? I have never liked cinnamon, plus it always seems to burn my mouth when I do have some, even when i sprinkle a littke on my egg nog around Christmas time!
James, use Nutmeg on your Egg Nog.
I just made this. I found it easier to put the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. My bottle was a little too small for the entire amount and the cinnamon settled to the bottom. My batch was not as clear as the one in the picture. The taste is very lemony and it leaves a cinnamony taste in your mouth. Pretty good! 😀
I just tried this as well. And mine trun the same as yours. The cinnamon is more consecrated at the bottom with lemony taste !! Feels refreshing 🙂
I know that lemons are acidic and wonder if it is really necessary to add the lemon juice. I have weak enamel and do not want to make it worse. Thank you for sharing your incite and amazing recipes.
Marcia,
Honey often has botulism spores in and I’m somewhat sure you will need an acid to stop it thriving.
I’ve made this and it works great. But I made my own variation, cause I wanted to use less acid. What I do it just make is fresh daily, and it needs less acid, or none if very fresh. I’ve been known to just use honey and cinnamon. I just leave the cinnamon to infuse for as long as possible, then add honey to taste when ready.
This recipe above and my variation has help my mouth infection that kept spreading from persistent ear infection. I treated the ear infection by putting garlic, oil and vinegar in a pestle and mortar, and then sieving the juice through. That help the ears, the above mouthwash help with the throat.
Can this mouthwash be swallowed to cleanse the body as well?
I’ve tried a lot of your remedy’sthere very good
wouldnt the citrus rot the teeth?
is there any expiration on homemade cinnamon and honey mouthwash, can i put it inside the fridge for longer life?
this looks interesting. i don’t use mouthwash but my bf uses listerine, which drives me crazy. i’ve been exploring natural recipes to try to convert him so thanks! it’s my first time at your site (i think). I’m having fun! 🙂
I share green cleaning and other fun stuff on my blog. hope you’ll visit.
How can I use the baking soda without causing all to erupt like a volcano experiment?!
I mixed the lemon juice with cinnamon and parking soda mixed them up. Then I added the hot water it turned out fine !! (:
Only one cup of water make the bottle shown in picture?
In fact am just taking a cup of cinnamon and honey as a step down tonight 🙂 taste real good! Thanks
When I put cinnamon, then lemon juice and added baking soda…guess what happend? It started reacting and creating a foam and my mouthwash left the jar…
It may actually do more damage long-term-one of the most popular ingredients in mouthwash is ethyl alcohol, which can weaken the lining of your gums.
I like this concept, home made, where we know what to do everything from the kitchen of our own home. Homemade Cinnamon Mouthwash is a good technique to fight bad breath. Thanks!
The recipe for the mouthwash, how long will it keep and do you have to keep in fridge?
Thanks
If you scrolled up the thread it says 3 weeks if left in the fridge. 1 week if left outside. 😉
All I want to say is that ETHYL alcohol (CH3-CH2-OH) is the same alcohol you find in all alcoholic drinks (wine, brandy, whisky, you name it…). Yes, drinking is not so good for anybody. Alcohol dehydrate the skin/mouth lining). It also damages some bacteria (not the real bad ones) Chemically, it could also damage enamel, but only in xerostomia…But even in this case enamel is more sensitive to acids than alcohols.
So, I don’t know if Listerine is so bad (if you don’t abuse it), but I’ll try this recipe, if I manage to prevent the volcano effect of mixing baking soda to an acid… At least I love lemons!
Another recipe I know, for cleaning teeth. Mash a fresh strawberry with a fork and mix it with ½ tsp baking soda. Use a soft tooth brush to apply it to your teeth. Keep it for 5 min (it stings…). I tried it and I was amazed…Don’t use it very often!
Can I use Baking Powder instead of Baking soda?
you know it is so embarrassing for me to say this but I brush my teeth very well my checks my tongue everywhere and let’s say that by an hour later my breath starts to stink again idk why and I don’t like that because that makes me not want to spend time with family and friends because sometimes they get a little bit to close and you’re just like want to die in front of them. Thank you for this im going to make it tomorrow and give it a try!
Danielle. Did you try it? How did it work put for you
It sounds to me that your bad breath isn’t due to a build up of bacteria (which most people associate with bad breath), but perhaps a diet problem (most unhealthy foods mess with the body’s chemistry, which can lead to less obvious problems such as bad breath) or a different oral problem (like gingivitis or a dead tooth, etc – in which case you should see a dentist).