Poor dental care causes halitosis (bad breath)
Following and maintaining proper oral healthcare will soon leave you with residue in the mouth which caused chronic bad breath, For people who suffered from bad breath or halitosis, the debris and the bacteria in your mouth manifest into bad smells. Smelly gases are released from the mouth after the bacteria had broken down when it was lodged in the mouth.
Everyone brushes their teeth in the morning, not knowing it hardly removes all the food particles stuck between your teeth left over from the dinner you ate the last night. The food particles together with your saliva become the breeding ground for bacteria. This rotting debris will then give out an unpleasant foul smell whenever you open your mouth to speak or when you breathe through your mouth.
Even yawning can emit the dreaded odour. If the debris left in the mouth is not removed and left to be accumulated, it will soon turn into a whitish deposit called plaque on the surface of your teeth and gums. Eventually, this horrific plaque hardens and forms a calcified substance called calculus. If this calculus is not rid of, it may turn and cause mild to severe Inflammation to the gums surrounding your teeth.
Practice effective oral hygiene cannot be overemphasized to take care of your teeth and prevent bad breath. From small we are taught to brush our teeth but it is not good enough. To make it effective, also brush your tongue and gums preferably twice a day with a soft-bristled brush and fluoride toothpaste to remove any food debris and more importantly, plaque.
Another way to remove food particles stuck between your teeth is by flossing daily. Antibacterial mouthwash besides temporarily freshening breath can reduce bacteria growth in your mouth. You may never know that your unclean dentures or other dental fixtures are the sources of the accumulation of bacteria which caused bad breath.
Do you visit your dentist at least once a year? I’m sure most of you don’t. During your annual visits, your dentist can examine and clean your teeth of plagues and can help you with the proper guidance on oral-hygiene routines like proper brushing and flossing. He might recommend you quit harmful habits like smoking or adjust your diet which causes bad breath.
Digestive disorders may cause a bad odour in your mouth
Oral sources are not only the cause of bad breath. In fact, the other part of your body, such as acid reflux or bowel problems may contribute to your mouth emitting bad breath. Acid reflux is also known as heartburn. It happens when some of the acidic stomach contents go back up into the oesophagus. Although these sources of bad breath are more uncommon than the forms caused by poor hygiene or dry mouth, nevertheless it may affect some people badly.
Poor digestion is not necessarily a cause for bad breath, but it might be the presence of a digestive issue. Some are born with a defect in a pouch in their oesophagus. This pouch is called “the Zenker Diverticulum” and can not have the normal or natural shape or form. An abnormal shape oesophagus can collect food particles, and when they start to decompose it releases a foul odour whenever you open your mouth to exhale or speak. Besides, having to endure suffering from the effects of bad breath, those suffering from this birth defect often experience regurgitation of undigested food whenever they’re bending over or lying down.
As mentioned above, this chronic digestive condition, Acid Reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can lead to bad breath. Contents from the stomach along with its acid are pushed up into the oesophagus and lower throat, causing oesophagus damage, heartburn and bad breath. Eating too many sugary foods can elevate the growth of gut bacteria which causes digestive disorders and bad breath. This happens when candida and yeast are feeding on the ingested sugars in the gut. Doctors suggest eating fibre and probiotics to prevent overgrowth and to cleanse your digestive system regularly.
If bad breath is worrying you, consult a doctor or dentist about your concerns. He can refer you to a specialist or a gastroenterologist to combat bad breath or assist you in maintaining an oral-hygiene lifestyle. After the doctor and dentist’s assessment of your dental and digestive health, you might consider changing or adjusting your diet. Acidic food and drinks can irritate a sensitive digestive system and cause more oral problems.
Gum disease is a common cause of bad breath
People who suffered from gum disease (Periodontal disease) have bad breath. The gum tissues that surround the teeth are infected. Gum disease is the Inflammation below the gum line causing the breakdown of the tooth’s attachment site and its supporting tissues. Even though bad breath is the main cause of gum disease, it can be treated by an oral-healthcare professional.
Gum disease comes in two forms. First, is Gingivitis, a form of gum disease that affects only the gums, and the surrounding soft tissues of your teeth. Second, Periodontitis, a more severe form of gum disease, wherein the infection spreads to below the gums. It causes damage to the bones and the surrounding tissue that support the teeth.
Gum disease is often the culminating of plaque buildup in the mouth. This plaque buildup is often accompanying bad breath and is generally due to poor oral hygiene. Impaired immune function, smoking and medical conditions such as diabetes are also causes of bad breath. When bacteria cause the formation of oral toxins, it irritates the gums. If left gum disease is left untreated, it will have substantial damage to your gums and jawbone.
As bacterial plaque builds up in the mouth, the bacteria begin to react with sugary particle residue to form toxins and other chemicals. In addition, these toxins will cause great discomfort in the gums, prompting them to become red and inflamed and easily bleed when in contact with anything you placed in your mouth. Over a period of time, when the plaque solidifies to form calculus or tartar. Progressive gum disease is associated with pain, bad breath, discomfort and bad breath.
If your mouth first shows signs of gum disease, see your dentist. For milder forms of gum disease, it can be cured and controlled by regular cleanings by a dentist and regular and consistent practice of oral hygiene at home. You would have to scale your teeth or root planing if you have more severe gum disease. Scaling is a process where the dentist removes deposits that had gathered from the tooth crown, while root planing is the removal of deposits that have collected along root surfaces beneath the gums. By following this procedure, deposits are clear to reduce the pain, inflammation and foul smell associated with gum disease.
Health issues that may have caused bad breath
Halitosis also better known as bad breath can be caused by a variety of conditions. Besides oral issues, certain health problems can also lead to bad breath, together with other side effects as well. If you have signs of respiratory infections and systemic organ illness, these symptoms are conditions that cause chronic bad breath.
For some people suffering from recurrent or chronic respiratory problems can often lead to bad breath. When the nasal passages got infected with or illness such as bad sinus infection or sinusitis and pneumonia, can also cause a foul odour. This happened as the result of postnasal drip which occurs when excessive mucus is produced during an immune response that gathered in your nose or throat. When this began to build up it harbours bacteria and food particles in the back of your mouth and throat to release an unpleasant smell. In other conditions, like bacterial pneumonia, the lungs are filled with liquid, a process known as consolidation. These high levels of bacteria and fluid are the results of severe bad breath.
Liver or kidney issues can also cause bad breath. The smell is caused by dimethylsulfide, a unique form of bad breath produce by late-stage liver failure. Alternatively, a form of fishy or ammonia-like smell is associated with chronic kidney failure. This form of bad breath is termed a “uremic fetor” and the smell is a result of an elevated urea concentration in saliva and its subsequent breakdown into ammonia.
We have a variety of symptoms that often link to these medical issues that cause bad breath. This medical issue includes chest pressure, congestion, sinus pain, or elevated body temperature. The obvious solution to cure bad breath is to treat each individual cause. The cure for sinus infection may involve antibiotics or more extensive procedures for organ-related issues. But the first all-important of improving oral hygiene is regular brushing, flossing, and usage of mouthwash before any additional oral health concerns.
Prevent bad breath
Although you and I have experienced chronic bad breath before and have cured and prevented it from manifesting using several practising key habits. To most of us who are not so fortunate and have not been cured yet, here are some important and useful ways you can avoid developing bad breath that you can practice and follow into your daily routine.
One way to prevent bad breath is to stay hydrated. When you had drunk enough water, the water keeps your mouth moist. This stimulates the production of saliva which helps to drain away food particles, which would otherwise be stuck in your tongue, gums and teeth for bacteria to grow. Sugary and acidic foods and drinks should be avoided, as these can damage teeth and leave foul-causing food deposits in the mouth.
It is best if you can limit the amount of alcohol and coffee consumption. Coffee and alcohol leave a lingering pungent smell in your mouth and it is difficult to remove. This often leads to dry mouth and bad breath. A dry mouth attributes to the limited production of saliva and causes foul deposits of bacteria and food particles to remain in the gums, teeth and tongue.
We respect the freedom of choice whether you want to smoke or not, but if you do smoke. see your dentist or doctor for advice and tips on how to quit the habit. Besides causing bad breath from the cigarette’s toxic chemicals, it also dried up your mouth. In addition, smoking increases the chances of developing oral cancer and gum disease.
Switch to sugarless gum and mints. Sugarless gum and mints do not leave the sugary deposits in your mouth that contribute to unpleasant breath and tooth decay. In addition to temporarily improving breath quality, using sugar-free gum and mints can improve saliva flow when consumed after a meal, thereby combating the long-term causes of bad breath.
When you have the urge to take a puff, switch to mints and sugarless gum. That way it won’t leave sugary deposits in your mouth that contributes to those unpleasant breath and tooth decay, Using sugar-free gum and mints helps temporarily to improve breath quality and saliva flow.
To maintain healthy oral hygiene, brush your teeth, gums and tongue regularly, as well as floss. Make it a habit daily that after every meal and snack, you should clean your teeth to maintain your mouth clean and free from odour. Using an antibacterial mouthwash regularly keeps your mouth from an unpleasant smell. Ensure you went for your routine dental exams and cleaning for effective dental health hygiene.
Which doctors may treat bad breath?
You are frustrated and angry with yourself at the same time. Your home oral-care routine to combat bad breath is not working. You have followed all steps like brushing your gums, tongue and teeth and, even flossing your teeth after each meal but to no effect. Your bad breath is not letting up and in fact, it is getting worse! If nothing helps, is time you should visit your doctor or dentist to check if there are any issues.
Over 90% of bad breath cases, according to the Academy of General Dentistry, are linked to issues in the throat, tonsils and mouth. Therefore, consulting a dentist is the best option to treat your chronic bad breath. So, your dentist is the one you should look for. He can examine and clean your teeth and can conduct any required further tests to diagnose which part of your mouth causes the bad breath. If your bad breath persists after you have to undergo treatment, then a specialist needs to be sought.
Illness such as respiratory infection, cancer and diabetes is other sources of bad breath. If that is the case, seek help from your healthcare provider to check and provide treatment for this nagging odour problem. Sometimes, the medications you had are to blame for causing bad breath. If that is the case, ask your prescribing physician if the medication you have been taking be adjusted or if is there an option for another prescription.
Check your infants or young children for any signs of bad breath. It may be an indication of an infection or an underlying undiagnosed health issue. Bring your child to see a dentist or paediatrician straight away. For young and old, the simplest way to combat bad breath is to do a check-up with your dentist at least once or twice a year.
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Conclusion
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Disclaimer: The information provided here does not constitute medical advice, please visit your healthcare provider or medical professional.
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