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Q. What are the most common causes of bad breath?
Q. How can I get rid of my daughter’s bad breath? A) In children, smelly breath that persists throughout the day is most often the result of mouth-breathing, which dries out the mouth and allows the bacteria to grow. Children who consistently breathe through their mouths might have colds, sinus infections, allergies, or enlarged tonsils or adenoids blocking the nasal passages, so a visit to the pediatrician is in order. Thumb sucking or sucking on a blanket can also dry out the mouth. To improve most cases of bad breath, the goal is to decrease mouth bacteria and increase saliva. The better your daughter's tooth brushing technique, the smaller number of bacteria will be present. Make after-meal brushing a habit. Use a timer to help her brush for at least two minutes. Be sure she brushes her tongue. You might also try a rotary electric toothbrush. I do not recommend mouthwashes or fluoride rinses in children who tend to swallow them. Breath mints may mask the problem, but don't get at the source. As your daughter gets older, sugarless sour candy or sugarless chewing gum can get the saliva flowing and get those mouth muscles moving. If the problem persists, she should see her doctor. Bad breath in children that doesn't respond to the above measures should be investigated. Order Now Q. Bad Breath - are there any home remedies? A) I don't know of any home products that can rid you of bad breath. What is known is that people that are fit and healthy suffer less from bad breath. This could be that their metabolism is in balance and does not allow the anaerobic bacteria to get out of hand. People that are mobile and active have fewer problems. People that do not go on high protein fad diets, or protein shakes have less bad breath problems. People that do not need to take medicines are better off as they do not get dry mouth. Order Now Q. Where does the odor on the back of the tongue come from? A) Although no one is sure, it appears that the origin of this material is post-nasal drip. Many people (perhaps a quarter of the urban population) suffer from post-nasal drip. Many of us don't even know we have it. In most cases, it's not associated with any disease, but is rather more like an allergy. Most of the mucus secretion rolls down the throat, but some of it may get stuck on the tongue. And while it may not have a smell when it gets there, after hanging around for a few days, the millions of bacteria on the tongue break it down, yielding foul smelling molecules. Perhaps in more primitive societies the back of the tongue was cleansed by eating more fibrous food than we do today. Whether or not this is true, the back of the tongue is a major source of bad breath, and the odor which it gives off has a typical smell of its own. Interestingly, some people with this problem don't have much bad breath when they just blow air from their mouth. It's when they begin to talk that the odor makes itself evident. Apparently, during speech, the passage of air over the active tongue tends to intensify the odor. Order Now Q. Did Bad Breath from the Stomach? A) Bad breath from the stomach is extremely rare. So rare, that of the thousands of people whom I have smelled professionally, I cannot recall even one case in which the stomach appeared to be clearly involved. The esophagus, which connects the stomach with the mouth, is not an open tube, but is closed. Each chunk of food (called a bolus) moves down the esophagus similar to the way that a swallowed frog moves down a snake. Similarly, when one belches, a little bubble of air moves up the esophagus and exits at the mouth. I am not trying to argue that belches don't smell. They can and do. It's just that belching is a once-in-a-while phenomenon. The rest of the time, the esophagus closes off the stomach.
Some people think that the tongue and
stomach are connected, perhaps through reflux of liquid. Although I
cannot completely rule that possibility out, the smell of tongues has
little in common with stomach odors. Furthermore, bad breath can
usually be controlled by treatments limited to the mouth itself. Order Now A) Some dentists recommend anatomical (triangular) toothpicks, rather than floss. There are several reasons for this. Many dentists feel that people are too lazy to use floss on a regular basis, and feel that toothpicks are a reasonable substitute. Some patients have larger spaces between their teeth, making them more suitable for using toothpicks, proxabrushes or the like. The advantage of using non-scented toothpicks, particularly plastic ones, is that, similar to floss, you can smell the toothpick between each passage and get a very good idea of the places that are causing the odor. These are the places you want to clean most carefully. One disadvantage of the toothpicks is that they cannot clean behind the last teeth in each row, whereas floss can. Since usually the smell gets worse as you progress from the front teeth working back, a lot of smelly bacteria can be hiding behind the last teeth, particularly if the end tooth in the row is a wisdom tooth. Order Now Q. Should I use mouthwash? A) Mouthwashes were invented several thousand years ago for breath freshening. One concoction, suggested in the Jewish Talmud, consists of dough water, salt and olive oil. Several years ago I encountered someone who prepares a similar brew on a regular basis. Commercial mouthwashes usually contain a concoction consisting of flavor, alcohol, and antibacterial agent(s). Several types of mouthwash have been shown to reduce malodor in clinical trials, including 0.2% chlorhexidine mouth rinses. Order Now Q. Is bad breath treatable? A) The best news about bad breath is that in most cases it is treatable. The first step to treating it is detection. Many people who have bad breath are not aware of their condition. Once identified, bad breath can be treated by your dental professional, or with the Breathers Fresh Breath System. Order Now Q. What type of treatment is available? A) In most cases, recommendations for treatment will involve the enhancement of your oral care routine. This may include necessary hygiene visits, a change in hygiene products to those specifically designed to treat bad breath and the addition of tongue scraping to your normal hygiene routine. Additionally, brushing and rinsing with alcohol and sugar free products like the Breathers Fresh Breath System product line can help to guarantee long-term fresh, healthy breath. Order Now Q. What can I do about bad breath? A) Regular checkups will allow us to detect any problems such as gum disease, a dry mouth or other disorders that may be the cause. Maintaining good oral hygiene, eliminating gum disease and scheduling regular professional cleanings are essential to reducing bad breath. Regardless of what may be the cause, good oral hygiene is essential. Brush twice a day and clean between your teeth daily with floss or interdental cleaners. Brush your tongue, too. If you wear dentures, be sure to remove them at night and clean them thoroughly before replacing them the next morning. Order Now Q. Is “tongue cleaning” a new trend? A) No, in fact details of tongue cleaning from centuries ago have been written in Indian and Chinese scripts. The Chinese make reference from 1927 “… with it you use the tongue scraper, a 10cm long and 7mm wide metal strip that had to be carried around attached to their buttonhole…” Order Now Q. How does tongue cleaning prevent bad breath? A) Daily cleaning of the tongue prevents increased coatings of bacteria forming. The back of the tongue is multilayered, consisting of stringy, leaf-like capillaries, which form a nesting place for bacteria. About two thirds of all bacteria in the oral cavity are attached to the tongue. Order Now Q. To Prevent Bad Breath We Should Focus on the Foods We Eat A) It is true that temporary bad breath comes from the foods we eat. Many foods like onions and cabbage contain high amounts of sulphur compounds. When these foods are digested the sulphur compounds are absorbed into the blood stream and carried to the lungs. Here the sulphur compounds are exhaled as we breathe causing our breath to smell. Chronic bad breath , however, is not caused by the foods we eat. Instead, chronic bad breath results when bacteria in the mouth break down left over food particles creating odourous sulphur particles. The primary goal in this case is not a change in diet but a reduction in the number of odour causing bacteria in the mouth. This can be done with proper brushing, flossing, and cleaning of the tongue with a tongue cleaner (tongue scraper). Order Now Q. Is there another way I can have a tooth replaced other than a bridge? A) Yes. Dental implants can provide artificial teeth that look natural and feel secure. Dental implants can also be used to attach full or partial dentures. Implants, however, are not an option for everyone. Because implants require surgery, patients must be in good health, have healthy gums, have adequate bone to support the implant and be committed to meticulous oral hygiene and regular dental visits. If you are considering implants, a thorough evaluation by your dentist will help determine if you would be a good candidate. Order Now Q. What is the medical profession doing to help people with this condition?
Q. Our 3 year old daughter's breath is often bad. What smells should we look for, are there any that we should watch out for? A) Most kids would go out of their way to avoid eating garlic or onions, yet it is not unusual for a child to wake up with very smelly breath. Throughout the day, a child's saliva, swished by the mouth muscles, washes away unwanted debris. As soon as a child falls asleep, saliva production plummets, and the muscles relax. The longer a child sleeps, the higher the bacterial count in the mouth rises, resulting in "morning breath." In children, smelly breath that persists throughout the day is most often the result of mouth-breathing, which dries out the mouth and allows the bacteria to grow. Children who consistently breathe through their mouths might have colds, sinus infections, allergies, or enlarged tonsils or adenoids blocking the nasal passages, so a visit to the pediatrician is in order. Thumb sucking or sucking on a blanket can also dry out the mouth. To improve most cases of bad breath, the goal is to decrease mouth bacteria and increase saliva. The better your daughter's toothbrushing technique, the smaller number of bacteria will be present. Make after-meal brushing a habit. Use a timer to help her brush for at least two minutes. Be sure she brushes her tongue. You might also try a rotary electric toothbrush. I do not recommend mouthwashes or fluoride rinses in children, since kids tend to swallow them. Breath mints may mask the problem, but don't get at the source. As your daughter gets older, sugarless sour candy or sugarless chewing gum can get the saliva flowing and get those mouth muscles moving. If the problem persists, she should see her doctor. Order Now Q. Researchers claim that the back of the tongue is a major source of bad breath. Can I smell it myself? A) In healthy people, the tongue is probably the major source of oral malodor. You may not believe such a statement, so I suggest the following simple experiment. Stick out your tongue as far as it will go, and give one of your wrists (preferably one without perfume) a good lick. Wait five seconds, and take a sniff. Almost everyone's tongue has an odor. Interestingly, the smell of the front end of the tongue isn't the crux of the problem. It is way further back, towards your throat. In many people with bad breath, a careful scraping of the back of the tongue with a spoon reveals a yellowish mucous material. The odor of this material on the spoon itself is often very reminiscent of the odor emanating from the whole mouth of the subject. Order Now Q. What about smoking? A) Smoke odor comes out of two places: the mouth and the lungs. Interestingly, in some people the smell from the lungs is much weaker than that coming out of the mouth. This observation indicates that smoke components are retained in the mouth itself. On one hand, it is true that this may have an effect in reducing the activity of bacteria in the mouth. However, the toxic components in smoke have a similar effect in injuring our own cells. All in all, smoking is not a good idea as far as breath freshening is concerned. By the way, I have, on occasion, smelled tobacco smoke on the breath of people who don't smoke at all. These individuals have been continually exposed to the smoke of others, and end up having telltale odor as a result. Order Now Q. What self tests can be done to check the status of one’s breath?
Q. Can Kissing Pass On Bad Breath? A) This topic is little understood. It is widely believed that the answer is no. Kissing cannot pass on bad breath. Of course the anaerobic bacteria can be passed from one mouth to the other, just like any infection. But for the problem to exist the person they have passed too must also have a dry mouth or nasal problems or something similar to let the bacteria grow in numbers. Does this happen? I have spoken to patients that insist this is how they caught bad breath. I suppose time will tell. If you have been kissing someone with bad breath, I suggest that you clean your mouth with a Triclosan mouthwash to remove the introduced bacteria, and also chew gum such as Recaldent to stimulate saliva flow. This is the body's way of removing the bacteria. Order Now Q. Wouldn't it be better if the microorganisms on the tongue were completely eradicated? A) Certainly not. The bacteria on our tongue and in our month have an important protective role. When they are diminished drastically, say by the chronic use of antibiotics, then the tongue becomes prey to colonization by Candida, a yeast-like organism that causes moneliasis (candidacies). Candida, which are microorganisms, but not bacteria, are present in small numbers in a lot of our mouths, but are usually kept at bay by the bacteria. Candidal diseases are much more difficult to control than bad breath. So the idea is to keep the number and activity of bacteria on the tongue low, but not get rid of them completely. Order Now |
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