Bad Breath, It Happens to the Most Of us

So why do we get bad breath and how can we get rid of it? These are two very common and very important questions that we have all had to ask ourselves at some time or another. The reason it is such an important thing to figure out is that it is so much a part of who we are. It affects our confidence with people and our reputation around people. Talking is such a part of our daily life and if we have bad breath we are either not talking for fear that someone will find out how nasty we are or we are embarrassing or offending those we are talking to. Bad breath is also not only offensive to others; it carries with it a taste that is offensive to the owner as well.

Now it is one thing to have bad breath once in a while or in the morning before we brush our teeth. This kind of problem is easily remedied with simple hygiene. But can you imagine (and some of you can) having bad breath chronically and so bad that simply brushing your teeth or avoiding spicy food at lunch is not enough. Well some people have to live with this nightmare called chronic halitosis.

So if you are one of these people you need to first know that there are very good remedies to most people's cases of bad breath that are worse than normal. First you should go see your dentist which is pretty obvious. You see bad body odors in general are secondary to the growth of microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, etc.) that are producing noxious fumes as a by-product of their metabolisms. It is always important to go and see that you don't have a major infection that is causing the rotten (literally!) smell in your mouth.

Often however there isn't a huge cavity or pharyngeal abscess to explain the terrible smells and because the etiology is less obvious the solution is less obvious as well. Killing the bacteria is still the name of the game though and it just because people with chronic bad breath were unlucky enough to have gotten a particularly smelly strain of bacteria.

How do you do this? Well in several ways. One is to brush your teeth more often like every time you have food. Another is to get in the habit of brushing your tongue. Another is to buy a good mouth wash that kills the bacteria. Then lastly and maybe not so obvious is eating yogurt. You see yogurt contains bacteria that lives well in the body and is very benign in terms of bad effects. If you do these things you may just find that your bad breath takes a hike.

The Exact Cure for Bad Breath

If you are looking for a cure for bad breath, you will need to inspect the reasons of the bad breath first to sort it out efficiently. Bad breath is an ordinary state that has an effect on one in four people and it is important to recognize that there is a cure and bad breath could be treated successfully.

There are lots of causes of bad breath as well as oral bacteria, foods, smoking, dentures, and dry mouth. All of those diverse causes of bad breath will be related to either chronic or short-term bad breath. You will get a cure for bad breath for all of these circumstances.

Oral Microorganisms

Oral bacteria is one of the most common reasons of chronic bad breath and could be eliminated through normal brushing and flossing of your teeth and regular brushing or scraping of your tongue. Oral bacterial lives in your mouth and seems to favour the tongue as one of its preferred hiding spots. You should free your mouth from food particles and plaque in order that bacteria cannot prosper in your mouth. When you use a regular brushing and flossing routine, you can get rid of oral bacteria and bad breath from your life.

Food Related Bad Breath

Foods such as onions and garlic will be the source for temporary bad breath and it is suggested that you eat a sprig of parsley, cloves, fennel seeds or peppermint to cover the smell. The stink cannot be eliminated since it creates in your intestinal tract and you should wait a day for the smell to leave your body naturally.

Smoking Related Bad Breath

Smoking brings about chronic bad breath from the smell of the tobacco and as it leaves your gum and teeth prone to gum illness which causes bad breath. To prevent the hazard of mouth and gum disease and bad breath caused by smoking, it is suggested that you quit smoking.

Bad Breath and Dentures

Dentures can cause chronic bad breath when the dentures are not cleaned frequently and properly. Food particles will be caught in the appliances and if not the dentures are washed regularly, the food particles will facilitate oral bacteria thrive in your mouth.


Dry Mouth Related Bad Breath

Dry mouth is a state that will cause temporary or chronic bad breath as moisture assists to clean the tissues of the mouth. If the mouth is too dry, bacteria cannot be moved away from the mouth. You could drink the suggested daily amount of water and juices to replenish the moisture in your mouth tissues and this will help out to flush out oral bacteria. Brushing and flossing have to be often continued when a dry mouth state is current to prevent bad breath.

If you desire to find the exact cure for bad breath, you should match the remedy to the cause of the bad breath. When you have found a cure for bad breath that works for you, you will feel like it is a new beginning.

Dry Mouth – Main Bad Breath Cause

Although you may want to consult your physician if you have a particular problem with bad breath, the following general advice will give you insight into the likeliest cause of a bad breath problem.

The principal bad breath cause is associated with bacteria in the mouth. This can flourish when the saliva flow in the mouth is reduced. Lack of saliva means that old food is not washed away, and saliva also helps in neutralizing acids. Saliva also performs the very necessary task of flushing out the mouth, and removing food particles, so any reduction in saliva flow inhibits this action.

Saliva can be reduced for a number of reasons. There are natural causes of this reduction, and other causes related to disease or choices. The flow of saliva reduces naturally as we get older, making us more prone to bad breath. Also when we are dehydrated, the moisture in the mouth reduces naturally. Often when asleep, people will have their mouths open, maybe even snoring, and this will dry out the mouth. This contributes to the “morning breath” syndrome.

Certain diseases and illnesses can similarly contribute to bad breath. Any infection that affects the respiratory tract can be a cause of bad breath, as well as many other diseases.

Dry mouth can also be caused by medications for various problems. The most common is probably the antihistamine, taken to relieve allergies. Some others include high blood pressure and depression medicines. Other things that can be ingested that affect the dryness of the mouth include alcohol and mouthwashes that contain alcohol.

One of the many problems associated with cigarette smoking is dry mouth. For many reasons unrelated to bad breath, it is wise to avoid smoking, as has been documented extensively elsewhere. With a predisposition to bad breath, however, the habit of smoking virtually guarantees that you will suffer from bad breath.

It is no good to think that the bacteria causing bad breath may be generally eliminated, as they are naturally occurring and required for bodily function. They are anaerobic, which means “without oxygen”. As saliva provides oxygen the lack of saliva with a dry mouth makes a more favorable environment for the bacteria to increase, aggravating the bad breath.

The bacteria create sulfurous compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide (the bad egg smell) which are the cause of the smelly breath. The bacteria assist in the digestive process by starting the breakdown of proteins. Thus another cause of bad breath would be a high protein diet, which feeds the bacteria.

Why do you have bad breath?

Many people think they suffer from bad breath. Are you one of them? It is actually quite hard to smell your own breath. One good trick is to lick the back of your hand wait 30 seconds and then smell the back of your hand or you could just ask a close friend.

So what causes the smell?

In 85 - 90% of cases the smell is caused by the bacteria that are living on the back of the tongue. These bacteria live in the hairs on the back of the tongue and produce horrible chemicals when they break down food particles which in turn produce the smells. These are called volatile sulphur compounds or VSC. If you look at the back of your tongue you will notice it is rougher and it has more hairs this is generally the area where the malodour originates from.

It is usually worse in the morning because saliva production slows during the night and your mouth dries out. Saliva is good because it washes away the bacteria and food particles and also it has lots of goodies in it which slow down the activity of the bacteria

We recommend treating this by using a tongue scraper to remove the bacteria from the back of the tongue (see OrafreshTongue Scraper).Sounds easy but it can make people gag initially. Some times of the day are worse than others so try and find a time when it is easier for you to do this. After a period of time people generally get more used to it & can then move gradually further back on their tongue. It is amazing what comes of the back of your tongue! For best results this should be done once a day and your tongue scraper should be replaced at least 6 monthly. After using the tongue scraper for a while (a few weeks daily), try stopping it & you will be able to detect the generally fouler taste in your mouth.

We then recommend the use of a mouthwash containing chlorine dioxide (see CloSYS II Mouthwash). The chlorine dioxide neutralises the VSC's and kills the bacteria that produces them, it does not just cover a smell it eliminates the cause. This mouthwash does not contain alcohol which most other preparations do therefore it does not dry the mouth and reduce saliva flow which can make bad breath worse if used over a long period of time.

Advanced or chronic periodontal disease can cause the same smells. The bacteria are living in pockets down between the tooth and gum and this does need to be treated by your dentist. Check out our Toothbrushing Technique and Do I have Gum Disease? To make sure you understand the process and are cleaning correctly.

In about 5% of cases the smell can be caused by sinus infection and post-nasal drip, with similar types of bacteria involved. This an area for your medical practitioner if it is chronic so please see your doctor if this is a regular occurrence for you

In about 3% of cases a long term infection in your tonsils can be the cause of bad breath. If you have eliminated all other causes then again check with your doctor if your tonsils are involved. Very rarely some medical conditions can cause bad breath.

How do I get fresh breath ?

1. Scrape the back of the tongue as a matter of routine once a day
2. Make sure you have the correct brushing technique and inter dental cleaning technique
3. See your dentist to eliminate the possibility of gum disease
5. Drink plenty of water to keep you mouth moist and saliva flow normal
6. Chewing sugar free chewing gum will increase your saliva flow (see Recaldent and Biotene Products) Be careful as this can increase jaw/joint problems.
7. Use CloSYS II once a day to reduce bacteria numbers and eliminate VSC's

Is Bad Breath A Sure Sign Of Gum Disease?

The answer is no! While bad breath is a possible sign of gum disease, other common causes crop up as well. For example, tonsil stones can cause bad breath. Tonsil stones are created when decaying food debris collects in the crevices of the tonsils and becomes compacted into what are referred to as "stones." You can have bad breath from tonsil stones without having any gum disease at all.

Post-nasal drip can also cause bad breath, as the discharged mucous provides a rich food for the anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath, helping them to multiply rapidly. Again, this sort of bad breath isn't by itself a sign of gum disease.

However, the most common cause of bad breath is a lack of adequate oral hygiene. Improper brushing and flossing, or simply too little of it, can leave large amounts of plaque still stuck to and growing on your teeth and gums. If this growth is allowed to continue unchecked, the anaerobic bacteria has the opportunity to burrow down beneath the gum line, where they form unwelcome pockets of bacterial colonies, ones that are devilishly hard to reach and clean without the help of specialized tools.

Anaerobic bacteria give off a smell much like sulfur, and it is exactly that smell that's most closely associated with bad breath. Occasional bad breath may merely be a signal that it's time to brush again, but persistent or chronic bad breath can be an early warning sign of gum disease.

If you have chronic bad breath as well as tender or inflamed gums, there's a good chance that you are experiencing some level of gum disease. It's important to see your dentist as soon as possible to seek treatment, not only for social reasons, but your overall state of health.