Six Causes of Bad Breath

Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is a common problem. You didn’t think it would be that easy to cure, did you? Actually it has numerous causes and is usually an indication of something amiss in the body.

Fortunately, most cases of bad breath are not caused by a serious medical condition and can be resolved quite easily with the right care and attention.

If you have noticed that your breath smells unpleasant or different than normal, it is important to know what could cause this. If left untreated, bad breath has the potential to lead to social isolation or issues at work or school as a result of others not wanting to get too close to you out of fear they will catch your bad breath. Here we will discuss different symptoms and causes for bad breath.

Symptoms

The most significant of symptom of bad breath is a strange odor from your mouth. However, some people do not know whether they have bad breath. Some people may worry too much about their breath even though they have little or no mouth odor.

According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, 42 percent of Americans are concerned about their breath. Bad breath can be embarrassing and hard to talk about. But you’re not alone.

Before you make some treatment about your bad breath, you need to check some possible causes if you have.

Food.

Alcohol, canned fish, cheese, coffee, garlic, horseradish, onions, protein are common foods as bad breath triggers causing foul-smelling bacteria to linger longer in the mouth. Especially after going through digesting, these foods will enter your bloodstream and be taken to your lungs, eventually affecting your breath.

In addition, if you does not always brush your teeth after dinner, the breakdown of food particles in and around your teeth also can increase bacteria and cause a foul odor.

Tobacco products.

If you are a non-smoker, you may be very tired of smoking odor, that is a very unpleasant mouth odor. And it is commonly known as smoker’s breath, which is a special scent created by the cigarette smoke that is still lingering in your throat and lungs.

A long-term smoker is always more likely to have teeth disease or lung cancer. Compared with these disease, a bad breath caused by smoking is a very insignificant symptom.

The reason why smoking will leave a bad breath that is because a chemical compounds will left in people’s mouth, which mix with their saliva.

If possible, please leave away from smoking.

Poor dental hygiene.

Poor dental hygiene is a very important reason causing bad breath. As we all know if you don’t brush or floss daily, food particles will remain in your breath. Especially a bacteria - a colorless, sticky film plaque form - irritates your gums. Also, this bacteria leaves on your tongue, producing a odor. Thus, you need to clean your teeth regularly and check your dentures to avoid producing odors.

Dry mouth.

People with dry mouth will always feel less saliva in the mouth, especially in the morning. So there is a condition called "morning breath, " and it will be worse if you sleep with your mouth open.

If you are not in serious condition, chew gum or suck on candy can stimulate saliva. But if people become a chronic dry mouth, they need to contact a dentist or physician for prescribing an artificial saliva preparation or an oral medication that stimulates the flow of saliva.

Meanwhile, you can adjust your diet and try your best to avoid some foods such as onions and garlic.

Medications.

According to scientific researches, eating some special medicine have great relationship between bad breath.

Why some medications can produce bad breath? Because these medicine can lead to dry mouth due to some chemicals released in the body.

Usually these medicine includes: antihistamines, sedatives, amphetamines, antidepressants, diuretics, decongestants, anticholinergics and some antipsychotics.

Infections

Some Infections or chronic inflammation, especially in the nose, sinuses or throat, greatly can contribute to postnasal drip, causing bad breath. In addition, some diseases, like cancers, and conditions such as metabolic disorders, can cause a distinctive breath odor as a result of chemicals they produce.