What is Bad Breath and Causes of Bad Breath

Bad Breath is usually caused by the breakdown of proteins by bacteria somewhere in the mouth. Bad breath is not contagious, meaning you cannot catch it from someone else. Chronic bad breath, known as Halitosis, does not come from the stomach. The only odor that comes from the stomach is when you burp. Food eaten such as garlic and spicy foods once absorbed into the body can release odor through the lungs when you breathe. Food odors are transitory and should not be confused with bad breath. Human's sense of smell has the ability to adjust to odor.

Symptoms of Bad Breath

Poor dental hygiene — Teeth are coated with film or plaque. You may have food trapped between the teeth and pale or swollen gums.

Infections in the mouth — Symptoms depend on the type of infection. They can include:

Red or swollen gums that may bleed easily, especially after brushing or flossing
Pus between teeth or a pocket of pus (abscess) at the base of a tooth

People who have periodontitis often experience bad breath because of bacteria accumulating in areas that are not cleaned easily, such as deep pockets around teeth.

Fortunately, treatment is very effective for people who have bad breath of mouth origin.

Why Do Poor Habits Cause Bad Breath?

If you don't brush and floss your teeth daily, food particles can remain in your mouth, which promotes bacteria growth between teeth, around the gums, and on the tongue. This causes bad breath. In addition, odor-causing bacteria and food particles can cause bad breath if dentures are not properly cleaned.

Medical causes

Medical causes of bad breath are rare (about 10%), but they can occur. If you have a throat or tonsil infection, the catarrh that is produced can cause bad breath.

Preventing Smelly Breath

So what's a kid to do? Don't smoke or use tobacco products, of course. And take care of your mouth by brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing once a day. Brush your tongue, too, because bacteria can grow there. Flossing once a day helps get rid of particles wedged between your teeth. Also, visit your dentist twice a year for regular checkups and cleanings.

Treatment of Bad Breath

When saliva production diminishes, keep the mouth wet with a liberal intake of water. Experts advise drinking eight glasses of water a day for basic metabolic function, and it seems that keeping the mouth moist is a good way of keeping the bacterial flora of the mouth under control. Hold the water in the mouth as long as possible-minimum of twenty seconds, and swish it around to loosen food particles and other bits of debris that bacteria feed upon. The longer the water remains in the mouth the better.

The tongue scrapper much be somewhat flexible to follow the contours of the tongue yet rippled, ridges or "rake-like" in profile to do a proper job. Several passes of this instrument scarped lightly over the tongue twice a day will effectively remove the majority of evil-smelling debris, food, and bacterial residue.