Many people believe that bad breath is caused by eating foods or consuming beverages that present particularly strong odors (there's no denying the effect that garlic has on a person's breath). To a small degree this is true but the odor from such foods will pass as the food passes through the body. Chronic Bad breath (halitosis) is caused by something a bit more sinister.
Bad breath or chronic halitosis is typically caused by something the experts refer to as volatile sulfur compounds in the oral cavity. The mouth is full of anaerobic bacteria that are busy producing this foul smelling volatile sulfur compounds waste. These odor causing sulfur compounds can be found throughout the mouth, among the teeth, covering the tongue, throat and tonsils. In other words, these bad breath causing anaerobic bacteria are quite busy using your mouth as a toilet!
You may be thinking "I brush my teeth regularly so there's no way this happens to me". Unfortunately, we can't reach all of the spots that harbor bacteria when we brush. These hard to reach areas include the back of the tongue and into the throat. Unless you have absolutely no gag reflex it will be difficult to brush those parts of the mouth and throat.
Here are some of the factors that cause bad breath and halitosis tips:
Poor Oral Hygiene
If you don't thoroughly brush and floss your teeth daily you are missing the best opportunity to prevent and fight bad breath. When you don't brush regularly, tiny particles of food may remain in your mouth, often stuck between your teeth. These particles not only begin to decompose in your mouth but they provide the perfect place for odor causing bacteria to dwell.
Bacteria
Your mouth is a playground for odor -creating anaerobic bacteria! While these bacteria seem to prefer hanging out on the tongue, they exist in all areas of the mouth. The bacteria are happy spending time consuming the proteins in your mouth from mucus or food particles, spewing out stinky sulfur gases and multiplying at night when our salivary glands slow production. Saliva is one of the best tools in the fight against these stinky bacteria as it contains enzymes that make your mouth a hostile environment for the bacteria.
Gum Disease (gingivitis or periodontal disease)
Chronic bad breath or the presence of a foul taste in your mouth may indicate the presence of gum (periodontal) disease. Most gingivitis is caused by bacterial biofilms or plaque which sticks to the surface of teeth. Gingivitis is the most common form of periodontal disease. If gingivitis is not treated it may lead to a destructive form of periodontal disease known as periodontitis.
The best way to combat gum disease is by employing good oral health techniques including brushing your teeth multiple times per day, waterpik water flossing and regular dental checkups.
Respiratory tract infections
We've established that poor hygiene and gum disease are known to cause bad breath. Some other, less known, causes include respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis, sinusitis, colds, and flus. Respiratory tract infections cause an increase in mucus upon which anaerobic bacteria feed, resulting in the odor causing bacteria waste.
Medications
Medications that cause dry mouth can be a factor in bad breath. Since saliva is your best soldier in the fight against oral bacteria, anything that reduces saliva production can result in higher numbers of odor causing oral bacteria. Some medicines that cause reduced saliva include diuretics, aspirin, and antidepressants.
Alcohol
Anything that causes dry mouth can be a factor in increased bacterial growth in the mouth. Since alchohol is a drying agent it falls into the mouth drying category. In order to keep anaerobic oral bacteria under control your mouth must produce sufficient amounts of saliva.
Smoking and chewing tobacco use
Smoking or chewing tobacco can each cause bad breath, decrease your ability to taste, cause gum irritation, stain your teeth and cause cancer. The case against tobacco is undisputed. If you smoke or chew tobacco you are not only guaranteeing that you will have bad breath, you are also unecessarily putting your life at risk.
Foods with strong odors such as garlic or onions
Garlic Breath! We've all had it at one time or another. Garlic isn't the only offender but it's certainly one of the worst. Eat a few pieces of garlic or some tasty italian food and you'll likely spend the next couple of days with garlic breath. The reason that garlic breath is not easy to eliminate is because once garlic is digested its oils enter the bloodstream and are carried to the lungs where the odor is exhaled for up to 72 hours. One suggestion that seems to reduce the effects of garlic breath as well as odors from other foods is to chew in some fresh parsley. The best cure for garlic breath, though, is to simply avoid it.
Dry mouth or xerostamia
Perhaps one of the more prominent causes of bad breath, dry mouth (xerostamia) is the result of reduced saliva flow. Xerostamia can be caused by medications that reduce salivary flow such as diuretics, certain medical conditions, mouth breathing, alcohol, etc. Saliva is critical for keeping the halitosis causing bacteria in our mouths under control. It accomplishes this by moistening and cleansing the mouth by neutralizing acids produced by plaque and helping to eliminate dead cells on the surface of the tongue and other areas of the mouth.
Illness or disease
There are several illnesses that may contribute to chronic halitosis. Among them are kidney disease or kidney failure, anything that causes post nasal drip, respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diabetes, liver problems, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, lung infections, throat cancer, mouth cancer, gastric carcinoma, ozena or atrophic rhinitis, pharyngitis, Zenker's diverticulum, bowel obstruction (may cause breath to smell like feces), lung cancer, tonsils with pockets that trap food particles, gum disease, strep throat, etc.
