Most people have suffered with bad breath from time to time, even if only on the odd occasion, and it is usually only temporary.
It can simply be a case of "morning breath" caused by sleeping with your mouth open, or it can be due to eating or drinking something with a strong inherent smell to it such as garlic or Camenbert cheese.
Garlic, and onion, both contain very pungent oils which penetrate the skin and the oral mucous membrane (skin inside the mouth) and get trapped and linger for some while.
If you have persistent bad breath then the problem is probably caused by smelly gases released by bacteria that are in the mouth, and which are especially concentrated in the sticky plaque, the thin film that covers your teeth.
If you do not regularly and adequately remove all the plaque, then there are large numbers of bacteria that will remain and cause rotting of any small remnants of food caught up between the teeth or stuck in the plaque.
This breakdown of food particles causes an unpleasant smell which can vary depending on the type of bacteria present.
Although most cases of bad breath are due to bacterial action in the mouth in plaque, there are some other contributing factors to mention: · Dental decay - If frank decay is present in the mouth it causes cavities which make additional places where food deposits and bacteria can lodge and cause bad smells from the breakdown process previously described.
· Dry mouth - A dry mouth can often occur at night-time due to mouth-breathing or sleeping with the mouth open, and this is more common than one might think.
A dry mouth disadvantages the protective effect of saliva, and hence encourages the multiplication of bacteria, adding to the problem of bad breath.
There is a range of medical disorders that can produce a dry mouth due to inadequate saliva production, causing bacterial overgrowth.
These range from Sjogrens Syndrome to diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies, hypertension, cystic fibrosis, and psychogenic disorders.
· Bacterial build-up on the tongue - A persistent post-nasal drip can cause catarrh to drip down the back of the throat from infected sinuses and nasal passages and find its way on to the back of the tongue where it is a substrate (foodstuff) for bacteria which can then multiply and produce noxious substances.
· Acute infections - Infections of the nose and throat constitute a massive build up of undesirable bacteria and their products.
· Polyps - polyps can cause obstructions to the airways and become covered with mucus acting as focal points for bacterial growth.
· Bronchitis and pneumonia can be chronic in nature, causing the environment in the airways to become more favourable for other invading bacteria.
· Smoking - Smoking tends to cause odours from the combustion process along with irritation of the airways predisposing to infection.
In addition it tends to cause the mouth to dry out from the repeated heat of smoke, and hence encourages unfavourable bacteria to propagate.
For most healthy people, avoiding bad breath is simply a matter of not eating certain foods which are known to cause lingering smells, and taking care to clean the teeth thoroughly at least twice a day.
Cleaning your teeth carefully, making sure that you leave no plaque at the base of teeth near the gun, or in between the teeth, is the best way to not only avoid bad breath, but to keep your gums healthy.
Healthy gums are essential to retaining your teeth throughout your lifetime, because if gums shrink then teeth get loose.
If you have a problem with bad breath it may be a warning sign that you are not cleaning your teeth adequately.