What Causes Bad Breath?

Having Bad Breath is surely embarrassing as it is not something you can pretend isn’t there. This not only causes frustration at times but also makes you lose confidence. People generally step back from the person with bad breath or out-rightly avoid contact with them. Bad breath, medically known as Halitosis or fetor oris, is a big social handicap that affects millions of people around the world. Without further ado, let’s quickly touch on some of the major causes of the bad breath. Having known these causes, you can visit the best dental clinic near you for the treatment.

Poor Dental Hygiene

Bad breath is usually caused by poor dental hygiene. Brushing and flossing ensure the removal of every single food particle that can produce odor. Moreover, regular brushing also avoids the formation of plaque, a film of bacteria. This plaque can cause inflammation between the teeth and gums. The problem of bad breath arises if you don’t brush your teeth regularly.

Dry Mouth

Saliva naturally cleans your mouth and thus prevents odor and bad breath. It moistens your mouth, washes away dead cells that accumulate on the tongue and neutralize the acids produced by the plaque. If your mouth is not producing enough saliva then it means your mouth isn’t being cleaned as much as it should be which in turn causes bad breath. Dry mouth may be the side-effect of regular medications, continuous breathing through the mouth and salivary glands problems.

Food is the major cause

Certain food like onion, garlic, spices etc causes bad breath. The breakdown of these foods in or around the teeth enhances bacteria in our mouth which in turn produces a foul odor. After digesting these food items, they enter your bloodstream and affect your breath.

Oral Bacteria

Bad breath can happen anytime, thanks to the numerous bacteria present in our mouth. Not surprisingly, our mouth acts like a natural hothouse that permits bad breath-causing bacteria to grow naturally which causes oral infections. When you eat, these bacteria feed on the food particles left in our mouth and thus produces foul-smelling breath.

Gum Disease

Another major cause of bad breath is gum disease. Food particles trapped in your gum pockets ferment and release sulfur products. These products increase tartar build up on your teeth which traps bacteria and thus causes bad breath. Such products not only cause bad breath but also produce constant bad taste in your mouth. This can be the warning sign of advanced gum disease that should be treated immediately.

Smoking

Smoking and tobacco irritates gum tissues, stains your teeth and reduces your ability to taste the food. This not only produces foul-smelling breath but also put smoker at the risk for a host of other health problems. Since smoking affects the sense of smell, smokers might not be aware of how bad their breath smells.

Certain Medical Conditions

Bad breath or Halitosis is also caused by certain medical conditions such as gastric reflux, kidney disease, sinus condition etc. In this case, you need to consult the best dentist and get rid of these problems.

The problem of bad breath can be conquered, not by ignoring but by ruling out its causes. Set out to beat the problem and be more comfortable around people.

How to prevent?

Professional dental cleaning and polishing at 6 months interval is the key to mouth less prone to infections and caries. Twice a day i.e. morning & night brushing should be followed along with regular dental-checkups.

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