Nobody plans to have coffee breath at a 9 a.m. meeting. It happens in the gap between the last sip in the car and the first person who leans in to say hello. You can't brush your teeth in a parking lot. You can do a few small things.
This one's for the part of the day that happens between brushings, which is most of it.
7:40 a.m. The coffee
Coffee has a strong, lingering taste. Add milk or sugar and it hangs around longer. That's most of what people mean by coffee breath: the taste and smell of coffee staying with you after the cup is gone.
A few things that help, none of them complicated:
- Drink some water after your coffee. A few sips rinse away some of what's left.
- Brush when you can, which for a lot of us means before you leave and again tonight.
- Chew something minty afterward. This is where we come in, obviously, but it's true of any sugar-free mint gum you like.
Gum swaps the coffee taste for a fresh, minty one for as long as you're chewing. Simple, and very useful at 7:45 a.m.
12:30 p.m. Lunch at your desk
You ate at your desk again. There's a meeting at one. This is the most ordinary after-meal moment there is, and it's the one our directions were written around:
chew 1–2 pieces after meals, up to 3 times a day, for about 20 minutes.
Twenty minutes is long enough to finish an email, walk to the meeting and settle in. Our how to use page has the details. It's also why flavor matters so much. A gum that goes bland at minute three doesn't get chewed for twenty. We made SMILE in extra fresh peppermint, a classic strong mint, because it's a flavor people tend to want to keep chewing. Our chew test is still underway, so we'll let you be the judge of how long it lasts.
3:10 p.m. The car line
Pickup. The engine's idling, the line hasn't moved, and someone in the back seat needs a snack right now. If there's a moment designed for a pouch that lives in the cup holder, this is it.
A few practical notes from the car line:
- Keep the gum in the front, not the back. It's made for adults, and gum is a choking risk for small children.
- Reseal the pouch. That also matters if you have a dog: the gum contains xylitol, which is toxic to dogs. Keep it sealed and out of their reach.
- Bring something for the kids that isn't gum. You knew that, but it's nice to hear someone say it.
7:45 p.m. After dinner
Some nights you brush right after dinner. Some nights the dishes, homework and bedtime come first. A piece of gum after dinner is a small thing to do for yourself while you get through the rest of the evening. Then brush before bed, like always.
How long should you chew gum?
For our gum, about 20 minutes per session, after meals. Beyond that, longer isn't better. If your jaw starts to complain, that's your cue to stop.
Is two pieces of gum a day too much?
No. Two pieces after a meal is exactly what our directions describe, and a pouch of 60 lasts about a month at two pieces a day. The upper limit in our directions is six a day. If your stomach is sensitive to sugar alcohols, stay toward the low end.
Part of a bigger routine
Gum is a small, pleasant extra after coffee, after lunch and after pickup. Brushing, flossing and your dental visits stay the main event.
Questions people ask
How do I get rid of coffee breath fast? Water, then something minty. Brushing is best when you can. If coffee breath is a constant worry, mention it at your next dental visit.
Is it OK to chew gum right after coffee? Yes. Many people chew gum after coffee because it swaps the coffee taste for a minty one.
Where should I keep gum so it doesn't get forgotten? Somewhere you'll see it at the moments you need it: the cup holder, your work bag, the desk drawer. Somewhere a dog can't reach.
A small thing for your cup holder
We make one gum. It's called SMILE, it comes in one flavor, extra fresh peppermint, and there are 60 pieces in a resealable pouch, which is about a month if you chew two a day. We built it for the moments in this article: after coffee, after lunch, after pickup.
If that sounds like your day, come take a look. Your first order comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you don't need to send anything back. And if you've got a car-line ritual of your own, tell us at hello@yawana.shop. We'd love to hear it.
Keep reading: Is chewing gum bad for you? · Every ingredient in our gum, explained