What is bad breath?
A foul odour coming from the mouth is called halitosis. Bad breath is most commonly caused by bacteria. There are a number of reasons for this, the most common being dental decay and gum disease.
Reasons for bad breath:
- tooth decay
- gum disease
- impacted wisdom teeth
- poor oral care
- smoking
- dry mouth – can be caused by medications
- acid reflux
- gastrointestinal problems
- oral disease, such as infections
- foods – onions, garlic etc
- stress
- medical problems such as diabetes, cancer, kidney disease etc
What can I do to fix bad breath?
The first step is to find the real cause of bad breath. A great place to start is schedule a visit to Corio Central Dental. A dental check up will reveal, whether the origin of halitosis is coming from the mouth. Dental decay, gum disease and even oral cancer can be completely pain free, so unless a dentist has a look, patients may be completely unaware that any disease is present.
Sample scenario:
A patient comes to seek help, for his bad breath. This patient is in his mid 30’s. He is healthy and not taking any medications. He is committed to brushing his teeth twice a day, flossing and even using Listerine. The halitosis continues and he is fresh out of ideas. A dental check up reveals an impacted wisdom teeth, the patient had no idea was there. This is the real culprit for this patient’s bad breath. The wisdom tooth has cut through the gum, but there is not enough space for it to completely erupt into the mouth. This partial eruption causes the tooth to be covered by a layer of gum and food gets trapped under this gum flap. No amount of cleaning can help, so it begins to decay and causes pretty bad breath. Solution? Simple – wisdom tooth is removed and patient no longer has bad breath.
What if I don’t have any dental disease?
If a dentist gives the all clear for your teeth and gums, the next step is to speak to your GP. Halitosis may be originating from the bacteria that live in your gut and special testing may be required to check for this.
PLEASE HELP ME TO FIX MY BAD BREATH – BOOK APPOINTMENT HERE
