Mouth Odor? Know About It Now.
Although our mouth is right under the nose, majority people are unaware of the offensive mouth odor. Bad breath is also called Halitosis and, it usually is the cause of embarrassment.
A major source of bad breath in healthy individuals are because of microbial deposits and, debris on the back of the tongue. It’s proved that 70% of bad breath can be controlled just by cleaning your tongue.
Causes of bad breath
- Certain food like onion and garlic have odor causing compound. Which from the blood streams enter the lungs, and are exhaled as bad breath. Using mouthwash have been proven effective in controlling such odor temporarily.
- Food stuck in between teeth and, around gums leaves unpleasant odor.
- Dentures which are not cleaned properly also cause bad breath.
- Certain food stuff, alcohol, tobacco and over the counter medicines have been usual causes for bad breath.
- A fraction of bad breath has also been reported due to systemic conditions such as, respiratory tract infection or other associated problems.
- Individuals with condition of dry mouth (xerostomia) have tendency to have bad breath. Which is usually caused if your saliva production is not sufficient. The key is to keep yourself hydrated. Your dentist can help in dealing with such condition by prescribing you salivary substitute or sugar-free chewing gums.
- Tobacco consumption not even causes bad breath but, also stains the teeth and affects gums drastically.
If your dentist rules out above conditions and you practice healthy oral hygiene, then the causes of bad breath could be because of-
- local infection
- sinusitis
- chronic bronchitis
- diabetes
- gastrointestinal disturbances
- liver or kidney ailments
You may refer to your family doctor to determine the cause of bad breath.
If you are concerned about your bad breath, please consult your dentist to determine the cause, and also help eliminate it by making appropriate treatment plan.
