Halitosis or simply called bad breath is a result of bacteria in the oral cavity.  Know bad breath causes to determine how to eliminate unpleasant mouth odor.

One or a combination of factors such as diet, medication, diseases, poor oral care, and dental problems are considered as bad breath causes.

Diet

Regular brushing of teeth effectively gets rid of food particles left inside the mouth.

Eating a low carbohydrate diet contributes to “ketone breath” or a fruity or sweet odor on the breath every time you exhale.

When your diet consists of eating foods with strong odors and not brushing or flossing of teeth then you are likely going to have an offensive oral odor.

Some foods known to cause bad breath are onions, garlic, fish, some cheeses, curry, and acidic drinks like coffee.  Brushing helps to lessen the strong smell but doesn’t totally eliminate it.  When these foods are broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream, they are moved to the lungs thus producing unpleasant odors when you exhale.

Medications

Some people are not aware that the drugs they are taking cause bad breath.  Antihypertensive, antidepressant, and antihistamines are some common medications that list bad breath as one of their side effects.  Always consult with your doctor in relation to the pros and cons from taking medications as dry mouth and bad breath causes.

Diseases

Take note of how breath odors smell like.  Fruity or sweet mouth odor is associated to diabetes especially when accompanied by excessive thirst or urination.  A ketone-like breath denotes the presence of a kidney problem.  Some medical disorders associated to bad breath are:

• Throat infection
• Diabetes
• Periodontal infection
• Throat infection
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Liver or kidney disease
• Sjogren’s syndrome
• Lactose intolerance

Poor oral care

Smoking is known as one of the many bad breath causes.  Tobacco as a main component of smoking plays a significant role in contributing bad breath.  The foul smelling substances found in tobacco’s smoke tends to accumulate on a smoker’s teeth, tongue, gums, or cheeks.

Follow your dentist’s advice to brush your teeth following a meal.  Food particles when left inside the mouth attract the growth of bacteria.  In turn, your breath has an unpleasant breath.  Thus, brushing effectively eliminates bacteria that produce the odor.

Dental problems

When your teeth are showing signs of decay or abscess, you won’t get to enjoy a fresh smelling breath.  Some types of dental problems that are also bad breath causes are active tooth infections, tooth decay, food debris left in between teeth, and bacteria.  The more infected your tooth becomes; the more bacteria are present as a source of foul odors.  Enlist the help of your dentist to help diagnose and treat existing dental problems through examination of bad breath causes and symptoms.

This embarrassing problem is better understood by knowing the factors that causes bad breath.  Take that first step in treating bad breath is by knowing its causes.

Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is most often a result from poor dental habits and other health problems.  Offensive oral odor is also a sign that your current lifestyle is unhealthy with poor habits in dental cleaning.  Oral hygiene is as important as your general health.  Get to know what you eat affects your breath.

Put an end to bad breath by saying goodbye to poor health habits.  Poor eating and dental habits are strongly linked to bad breath.  Among these habits are the lack of regular brushing and flossing of teeth, intake of foods with strong odor, inadequate water intake, and smoking or chewing products that are tobacco-based.

Poor dental habits

When you fail to maintain the cleanliness of your teeth by neglecting to brush or floss your teeth regularly, bad breath is sure to manifest.  Food particles left in your mouth or between teeth allows accumulation of odor-causing bacteria.

Additionally, dentures can also cause bad breath as they harbor food particles.  Take care of your dentures in the same way as you care for your natural teeth.  Brush them thoroughly to get rid of bits of food.

Strong odor foods

Onion, curry, and garlic are some of the foods that can make your breath smell bad.  These ingredients can significantly enhance the flavor of the dish but at the cost of your breath.  Some bad breath remedies to counteract the strong odor are to drink more fluids, eat vegetables to mask the odor, or to brush your teeth.

Inadequate water intake

The problem with bad breath is that food particles and bacteria remain in your mouth.  Wash those unwanted bacteria by drinking at least 8 glasses of water everyday.

Tobacco-based products

Apart from causing serious oral and respiratory diseases, smoking and chewing products based in tobacco cause offensive oral odor, gum irritation, reduced sense of taste, and teeth stain.  The benefits of not smoking outweigh the health risks associated to the use of tobacco-based products.

Take the step in protecting your health by avoiding poor habits in teeth cleaning and your diet.  Don’t let poor habits leave you with a stinky breath.   Lengthen your life as you start with good health habits.