Know Bad Breath Causes
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.
