Bad breath, medically called halitosis, can result from poor dental health habits or may be a sign of other health problems. In this month’s blog, the team at Maidstone Dental & Implant Centre advise on the causes and ways to prevent and treat bad breath.
Bad Breath Causes
Bad breath can result from several factors, from medical conditions and medications, bad habits such as smoking, and the foods you eat.
Food and bad breath – The food you eat begins to break down in your mouth, leading to a buildup of bacteria that can cause bad breath. Also, foods are absorbed into your bloodstream and move to the lungs, affecting the air you exhale. If you eat foods with strong odours (such as garlic or onions), brushing, flossing, and even mouthwash can cover up the odour only temporarily. The odour will not go away completely until the foods have passed through your body.
Hygiene habits – Most of the time, bad breath results from not taking good care of your teeth, such as not brushing and flossing daily and not seeing the dentist regularly for a deeper cleaning. This ups your risk of gum disease and allows bacteria to build up in the spaces between your teeth and gums.
Gum disease – Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) from poor dental hygiene can also cause bad breath.
Smoking – Smoking also causes dry mouth and bad breath, and it raises your risk of gum disease.
Bad breath after tooth extraction – When your dentist removes a tooth, a blood clot normally forms in the empty space as part of the healing process. However, in some cases, the clot becomes dislodged, or it does not form at all. This leaves your bone and nerves exposed, a condition called dry socket, which causes pain as well as bad breath.
Dry mouth (xerostomia) – Saliva helps keep things clean by carrying away some of the little bits of food that collect in your mouth. If you have dry mouth — for example, due to smoking — there won’t be enough saliva to move things along, leading to an accumulation of bad breath-causing bacteria.
Infections – Sinus and throat infections can cause postnasal drip, a source of bad breath. Bacterial infections can lead to tooth abscesses, or pockets of pus, which may make your breath stink.
Diabetes – This puts you at higher risk of gum disease, a cause of bad breath.
Liver and kidney disease – These two organs help rid your body of toxins.
When they’re not working at full capacity, those toxins can linger and cause bad breath.
How to Get Rid of Bad Breath
Bad breath can be reduced or prevented if you:
- Treat what’s causing your bad breath. If it’s due to an underlying health condition, treating that condition should improve your breath.
- Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Replace your toothbrush every three to four months or after an illness. Use interdental cleaning aids to remove food particles and plaque between teeth at least once a day.
- Scrape your tongue. The coating that normally forms on your tongue can be a host for smelly bacteria. Tongue scrapers are designed specifically to apply even pressure across the surface of the tongue area and clear any buildup.
- Avoid foods that sour your breath. Onions and garlic are big offenders.
- Skip after-dinner mints and chew gum instead. Chewing sugarless gum or sucking on sugarless candy stimulates the production of saliva, which helps wash away food particles and bacteria.
- Keep your gums healthy. Antiseptic mouthwash can help kill bacteria that cause bad breath and plaque that can lead to gingivitis — an early, mild form of gum disease.
- Moisten your mouth. You can get tooth decay and bad breath if you don’t make enough saliva. If your mouth is dry, drink plenty of water during the day.
- Keep your dental devices clean. Dentures should be removed at night and cleaned thoroughly before being placed in your mouth the next morning. Clean braces and retainersas directed by your dentist.
- See your dentist regularly, at least twice a year. They will do an oral exam and professional teeth cleaning and will be able to find and treat periodontal disease, dry mouth, or other problems that may be the cause of bad breath.
- Stop smoking and chewing tobacco-based products. Ask your dentist for tips on kicking the habit.
Who Treats Bad Breath?
In most cases, your dentist can treat the cause of bad breath.
If the odour is due to gum disease, for example, your dentist can either treat the disease or refer you to a periodontist, a dentist who specializes in treating gum conditions.
Call Maidstone Dental & Implant Centre today on 01622 682 029 to book a consultation, should you have any concerns about bad breath.
