Bad Breath

Bad breath is also known as halitosis. A person can suffer from bad breath at any age. This causes worry, anxiety and lowers confidence of the individual.

Halitosis affects the personality and dignity of the individual. People suffering from bad breath are usually considered unhygienic. This can lead to depression for the patient. Children and even adults with bad breath get bullied or teased. 

Causes of bad breath can be both local as well as systemic.

Local causes:

1. Poor oral hygiene - Food accumulated between teeth, tongue if not cleaned properly can rot and induce bad smell to the breath. Presence of plaque and tartar (hard deposits over teeth) allow growth of microorganisms that also lead to halitosis. Coating on tongue again can induce bad odor in mouth

2. Crooked teeth – Difficulty in maintaining proper oral hygiene in people with crooked teeth

3. Dry Mouth – Saliva is the natural cleansing agent in the mouth. Saliva flushes out both food deposits as well as microorganisms and maintains hygiene. Lack of sufficient saliva affects this process and eventually increased the growth of microorganisms leading to Bad breath.

4. Decayed/Infected teeth – Decayed teeth harbor food whereas pus and microorganisms from infected teeth can and lead to bad odor from mouth.

5. Gum Disease (Periodontitis) – Periodontitis is associated with inflammation, bleeding and pus accumulation in gums can be a causative factor.

6. Ill-fitting dentures, defective fillings or crowns, and bridges

7. Huge mouth ulcers

8. Tonsillitis

9. Post nasal drip

10. Sinusitis- Accumulation of mucous can be one of the causes

11. Oral Cancers

12. Habits like smoking, chewing tobacco, gutkha

Systemic causes:

1. Gastritis

2. Uncontrolled Diabetes

3. Chronic Kidney Failure

4. Liver failure

5. Side effect of certain medications for chemotherapy, angina, few vitamin supplements

6. Lung infection

7. Bowel Obstruction

Treating the local causes as well as systemic reasons is very crucial to treat bad breath.

1. Teeth cleaning or scaling is the first measure

2. Filling decayed teeth, treated infected teeth with RCT  reduce food accumulation and bad odor

3. Treating periodontal diseases

4. Correcting ill-fitting dentures, faulty fillings or prostheses.

5. Addressing systemic health disorders which were mentioned above can significantly reduce halitosis

6. Replacing medications inducing bad breath with alternate medicines can also prove helpful.

7. Cleaning tongue is one more important measure necessary in keeping mouth fresh.

8. Quitting habits like smoking, chewing tobacco or gutkha

9. Dry mouth can be addressed with saliva-inducing chewing gums or medication to improve saliva production.

10. Usage of medicated toothpaste as suggested by the dental surgeon.

11. Mouthwash can address the problem for short periods. Water-based mouthwash should be preferred over alcohol based ones.

12. A regular visit to the dentist for a thorough dental examination.