What is Bad Breath?

Bad Breath or Halitosis is the unpleasant odour typically caused by oral dryness, stress, hunger or certain items like garlic and onions or smoking and poor oral care.

Symptoms of Bad Breath -

White or Yellow Film on the tongue, Post Nasal Drainage, White Nodules on the Tonsils, Dry Mouth and Bitter, Sour or Metallic Tastes are some of the common symptoms.

1. One of the most common symptoms, the film forms due to nasal mucous and bacteria accumulation on the tongue especially the backside. Removing it is not the complete solution as these bacteria are found in the entire mouth and the saliva. Longer or larger taste buds (also called papillae) in some people traps more bacteria. People suffering from post nasal (mucous) drainage tend to have these films on the tongue.

2. Post Nasal Drainage causes due to sinus and allergies, where a thick mucous drains down the throat from sinus or nasal areas, that typically contains bacteria and proteins. These proteins break down into amino acids that foster the bacterial growth and the mucous also protect the bacteria from oxygen resulting in the bacteria causing halitosis. This causes the person to clear his throat often. Hydro Pulse sinus irrigator and Breathe-Ease XL saline powder help in reducing the drainage.

3. Tonsils secrete white 'smelly' nodules that usually go unnoticed as they are swallowed, but are noticed only when they get dislodged. They may be of 1mm-4mm in size and can be noticed only when placed at the entrance of nostrils. Removing the tonsils themselves would not be solution in many cases.

4. Dry mouth or Xerostomia is one of the main causes of halitosis caused due to ageing, medications, insufficient fluid intake. Dry mouth causes concentration of bacteria in the saliva that readily evaporate resulting in stronger bad breath. It also causes the alteration of acid / base balance in the mouth fostering bacterial growth. Less saliva causes accumulation of more bacteria and cellular debris.

5. Bad tastes like bitter, sour or even metallic tastes in the mouth are caused due to drainage in the sinus, medications dry mouth, dental infections or oral bacteria. Dry mouth is the main cause of bad tastes. However, not all causes of bad tastes produce bad breath, so bad tastes as a symptom may be misleading at times.

Bad breath causes
For the majority of people, the single most frequent cause of their breath odor problem is associated with bacteria that live in their mouth. Bacteria, just like humans, go through their lives consuming foods and excreting wastes. The waste products...

Chronic bad breath
Halitosis is most often caused by the breakdown of food particles by bacteria that inhabit our mouths. These bacteria are often found under plaque, in the spaces between teeth and gums and in the deeper crevices on your tongue. As the bacteria feed...

Cures for bad breath
Some of the oral bacteria which create the waste products that are responsible for causing bad breath live in the dental plaque that accumulates on and around a person's teeth, both at and below the gum line. A methodical brushing and flossing...