A lot of my patients have been asking me about solutions for bad breathe or halitosis & I figure that it's about time to post an article about it.
First were going to look into what causes bad breathe, next were going talk about conditions that make it worse & finally w’ell jump into some home solutions that will how you stop bad breath
Lets jump right in . . .
Table of Contents
WHAT CAUSES BAD BREATH
The primary cause of that bad odor coming from your mouth is bacteria . . .
Bacteria can be found all throughout the mouth including along along our gumline, in between our teeth and even on our tongue.
And as it breaks it down food, it releases a sulfur like odor that we associate with stinky breathe.
Now there are a variety of solutions that will help you control the amount of bacteria in your mouth & im gunna talk about that towards the end of the video
But before we do that lets jump into 4 main factors that can contribute to bad breath
DRY MOUTH
Dry Mouth is one of the largest contributing factors associated with a decrease in the production of saliva
What a lot of people don’t realize is that saliva is super important because it gives you the ability to cleanse a lot of that bacteria that sits around your gum line every day.
It also has properties that help prevent cavities & initiates the breakdown of food in your mouth.
Chemotherapy Medication
Chemotherapy medications have side effects that disrupt salivary flow.
This ultimately leads to bad breathe but also these patients have a higher prevalence of cavities at their examination appointments.
This is why they have to take extra precautions to ensure that people are taking care of their teeth. . .
Smoking Tobacco
Smoking tobacco products is another huge factor that can lead to bad breathe
Smoking in general has a not so pleasant odor to it but can also contribute to periodontal disease which is associated with bacteria in your mouth
So if possible try to stop smoking, the health benefits are so abundant but I know it can be really hard to overcome
THE KETO DIET
I think we all know that foods like garlic & onion can produce a really bad odor in the mouth.
Once you eat these type of smelly foods, the chemicals that cause the odor get absorbed into the blood stream, ransferred to your lungs and then eventually released into the air
So I shouldn’t have to tell you this but if you’re trying to eliminate bad breathe stay away from these type of foods.
Low carbohydrate diets high in protein have also been found to be associated with bad breathe
This is found with people that are doing lets say a Keto dies where there is body is breaking down a lot of fat and producing ketones which is then released in the air.
Its really not that big of a problem but I would recommend definitely drinking a lot of water to flush these ketones through your system throughout the day.
INFECTIONS IN THE MOUTH
I’ve talked about periodontal disease iin a recent video but I didn’t really mention that the bacteria associated with the inflammation at the gemlike can produce an odor noticeable to people in any room
Large cavities can also produce this odor if its housing decaying food or bacteria that isn’t properly cleaned out.
So it goes without saying to go to your local dentist someone you trust and get an examinatyion done, clean out any cavities and get a good cleaning to get you on the road to health.
I should also mention that if you recently had an extraction, bacteria or food can sit in the extraction site and cause bad breathe so its important to be careful with what youre eating and irrigate the extraction site if something is getting stuck in there.
HEALTH CONDITIONS IN THE MOUTH
If you have develop post nasal drip, then you can imagine all that mucus in the back of your throat act as a reservoir for bacteria and can trigger bad breathe.
Some people have really bad GI problems where they aren’t properly digesting food.
For example gastroesophageal reflux disease can contribute to a bad odor in your mouth
Finally people that have diabetes can develop bad breathe due to the ketones emitted from the breath similar to when we talked a low carbohydrate diet earlier in the video.
TREATMENT FOR BAD BREATH
Well, remember that at its core, odor emitting bacteria is one of the biggest contributing factors to bad breathe
So it goes without saying that visiting your dentist for proper dental cleanings and proper oral; hygiene at home including brushing and flossing twice a day will significantly reduce the amount of bacteria in your mouth and ultimately leave your mouth cleaner
But what I didn’t mention yet is how your can hosts a lot of these bacteria
You can even get a tongue cleaner where you safely scrape the tongue from the back to the front to eliminate all that bacteria that sits in the grooves & valleys.
Its really helpful for bad breath in the morning or if you are just more prone to have bacteria in your mouth.
There are also mainy proven benefits for simply drinking a lot of water throughout the day.
Simply keeping your mouth moist especially if you have dry mouth will help remove that odorous plaque and wash away a lot of that plaque sitting along the gumline
Finally chewing on healthy food items likes fruits and vegetables can help stimulate the salivary flow and ultimately reduce bad breathe.
That's it! I Hope you enjoyed the video and be sure to check out our other dental related articles on this blog & subscribe to Smile Influencers on YouTube!
Full disclosure: I receive a commission if you purchase the dental products through my referral links. This helps me run this blog & I appreciate the support.
