What is Bad Breath?
Halitosis what is it about.
Can You Smell That?
- What causes Halitosis?
- Treatment
Bad Breath (halitosis) can be subdivided into intraoral halitosis being from the mouth or extraoral which can be from the nose/respiratory tract or gut/blood borne. Approximately 90% of halitosis originates within the oral cavity due to inadequate plaque control, periodontal disease, dry mouth, faulty restorations, and in particular bacterial reservoirs that live on the tongue. This is where anaerobic bacteria degrade the sulfur containing amino acids cysteine and methionine into foul smelling volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and Methyl Mercaptan (CH3SH).
Your Oral health practitioner will mainly help determine if the cause of bad breath is of dental origin. However, if it is nasal, gut or medication related your oral health practitioner will help guide you to appropriate specialist or you may need to visit your local general medical practitioner.
General Treatment For Halitosis That Is Dental Related
The bacteria and nutrient contain that builds up on your tongue is a common cause of bad breath. Use of a tongue cleaner or a brush with gentle cleaning help reduce the bacteria load. Current studies suggest that the tongue cleaner is slightly better than the tooth brush.
Gum disease is commonly linked to malodour. In order to fix this, professional periodontal cleaning are needed. The dentist uses special equipment to clean under the gums. Continual monitoring and home care is required to prevent the malodour coming back.
This is very normal it is a result of a reduced saliva production while you sleep at night. The problem will usually disappear as soon as oral hygiene measures are taken.
Mint tablets, sprays or chewing gum only have a short term masking effect. Mouth Rinses that contain chlorhexidine or essential oils have also been found to only be effective for short. Lasting only 3-4 hours.
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This page provides general information about dental topics. It does not contain all the known facts of this subject and is not intended to replace personal advice from your dentist. If your not sure about anything on this site, contact us or speak to your local oral health practitioner. Make sure you give your local oral health practitioner your complete medical history and dental history.
A selection of the references used:
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& Sofat, A. (2014). Correlation of oral hygiene practices, smoking
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undergraduate dental students. Journal of natural science,
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as the cause of bad breath: a review. Phosphorus, Sulfur, and
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