Causes & Cures for Bad Breath

Bad breath can be paralyzing in social situations. There are many causes and just as many cures. It is important to get to the root of your bad breath problems to find a cure. After you treat it, you can also prevent it. Consider whether you suffer from bad breath due to the foods you are, or are not eating, or whether you have a more serious medical condition that needs treatment from a health care professional.

Causes

• Bad breath can be caused by a food you ate or by something more severe, like gum disease. Foods like onions and garlic can linger on breath, and it can be hard to get rid of their smell. Because food gets absorbed into your bloodstream and then into your lungs, you will continue to exhale the fumes of strong flavors well after you have eaten them, but the odors can be minimized with good dental hygiene.
  Gum disease and dry mouth are more serious conditions that cause bad breath. Morning breath is caused, even in the cleanest mouths, by the buildup of bacteria overnight on the teeth and tongue. Dry mouth, a condition that prevents the body from making a sufficient amount of saliva, causes bad breath because without enough saliva, the bacteria are never flushed out of the mouth. Cancer patients who undergo radiation often suffer from dry mouth as a side effect.

Tooth & Gum Care

• Brushing your teeth is number one. Although it seems simple, not everyone brushes as often as necessary. To avoid bad breath caused by food, you should brush after every meal. This will help reduce the lingering smells from the foods, especially ones with strong odors, that last after you have finished eating. Flossing is another big way to prevent bad breath. Food particles get stuck in between the teeth and are not always washed out of the mouth with brushing alone.

Diet

• People who have trouble digesting certain foods can also experience bad breath. Many times those who are dieting and not consuming enough food throughout the day also experience bad breath. A common dietary reason for bad breath is the body's inability to metabolize fatty acids. When these enzymes are not broken down, the body excretes them as waste and this, therefore, can cause upset stomach and bad breath as another side effect.

Cures

• The cure for bad breath is dependent on the cause. In some cases, being more diligent about brushing and flossing might take care of the problem. However, in more severe cases, your dentist may have to treat you for gum disease or dry mouth to help combat the symptoms. For symptoms that are related to diet, peppermint oil has been shown to reduce bad breath as well as other mint products that are digested into the system. Treating the bad odor internally will create a better result and not just mask the odor with a breath mint or gum.

Considerations

• Although a breath mint or gum might do the trick temporarily, it is important to remember that if you have a more severe condition causing your bad breath, the mint will merely mask a potentially harmful condition. It is important to talk to a health care professional if your bad breath is an ongoing problem.