Halitosis also known as bad breath or stink mouth affect 15 million people daily and half of them are unaware. This because most of us would find it uncomfortable to tell them so we just ignore it and hope someone else would let them know. Having this ailment is a sign that something is wrong in your body and it is caused by the bacteria in your mouth which is about 6 trillion in total, from that total there is an insidious group of bacteria called anaerobic bacteria . As they consume protein the your mouth ,they give off a waste (as all living things do )this waste is in the form of a gas called volatile sulfur compound which give your mouth the smell of rotten eggs or bad breath. Now lets take a look at the some things that encourage the bacteria buildup .
Table of Contents
1.Toothbrush
Your toothbrush collects millions of bacteria everyday from brushing your teeth, our bathroom and surrounding environment resulting in a breeding ground for these microorganisms.It’s no urban myths that germs such as Salmonella and Ecoli get onto your toothbrush when we flush our toilet researchers at the University of Charles Gerba Ph.d of the University of Arizona mentioned that when a toilet is flush the sprays remain airborne long enough to settle in on anything 10 feet away.
Researchers at Quinnipiac University in Hamden did a study and found that’d there is actually poop bacteria found on our toothbrush in bathrooms shared by more than one person . Even the toothbrushes that were covered with Suction cups still had dangerous bacteria that causes bad breath this is because these covers help to hold moisture on the bristles.
Solutions:
1. You can soak your toothbrush in listerine mouthwash .
2.Store in hydrogen peroxide
3 Use toothbrush sanitizer they can be a bit pricey but the kill 99.9% of the germs on your toothbrush SteriClean Ultraviolet Toothbrush Sanitizer is the FDA approved sanitizer so this is recommended.
4. Sanitize your new toothbrush when taking it out of its package there are no regulations on packaging toothbrush you have no idea where it has been before arriving at your retailer.
2.Your Tongue
The tongue has 90 percent of your mouth oral bacteria which live in the fiber or cracks. The tongue is like a carpet whose fiber come apart to allow dust to be trapped same as the tongue harbours bacteria . The tongue actually protects these anaerobic bacteria and allow them to multiply resulting in excess waste on your tongue giving it a white or yellow color the sulfur waste that results in bad breath.
Do not: Brush your tongue with your toothbrush you are actually spreading the bacteria all over your mouth
Solution:
1. Use a tongue scraper to get the film off your tongue and a Anti-Bacterial Tongue Spray oil solution . The reason is the coating which the bacteria produces is a form of oil and using water or alcohol to scrape your tongue would not remove the oil coating so researcher recommended oil sprays which would mix and then be removed .
3.Tooth decay
You may have tried mouthwash ,tongue scrape and brushing regularly but still have bad breath this can be one of the cause.Tooth decay can give you one of the stinkiest bad breath you will ever experience . For persons who don’t have proper dental hygiene ,is sure to have bad breath from tooth decay . But there are some exception example those persons who may take care of there teeth but have their wisdom tooth being covered by their gum ,this traps food particles between the two which result in a community of bacteria and bad breath.
Do not: Ignore the tooth decay it can lead to many other diseases.
Solution:
1.Visit a dentist and remove the tooth this may not get rid of the bacteria so he may give you some antibiotic such as doxycycline .
2. Look into your mouth regularly ,check your teeth look to see if your gum is growing over your molars , if it is visit a dentist as soon as possible because it can lead to gum disease.
4.Denture , Grills and Gold Teeth
Many person with dentures think they do not need to clean their mouth every day along with their dentures but this can usually lead to stink breath .Dentures are made of acrylic and porcelain and bacteria get imbedded in the acrylic because it is very porous. Food residue also seeps in between the denture and the gum. Bacteria also collect around the area where the dentures rest affecting the nearby teeth and gum resulting in a built up of bad odors.For persons who wear grills food bits and bacteria can become stuck between your jewelry resulting in the same.
Solution:
1.For the persons with grills they should be removed when eating and clean them everyday. Also clean the area where the gold tooth or grill is housed.
2. Dentures should be cleaned after eating and brushed at least once a day . You can soak them overnight in antibacterial solution like polident.
3. You can also use ultrasonic cleaner they kill most of the bacteria on jewelry , dentures and eyeglasses.
5.Dry mouth
Dry is another cause for bad breath especially morning breath .Dry mouth is caused by a decrease or lack of saliva flow it is impacted by outside influences such as medication, breathing through your mouth ,and medical conditions .Saliva is important in maintaining good oral health it neutralizes acid caused by decay causing bacteria and washes away food particles in our mouth . Dry mouth allows bacteria to multiply rapidly causing bad breath. One of the reasons we have morning breath is because we breath through our mouth at night causing our mouth to become dry.
Solution
1.Chew sugarless gum and eat sugarless candy
2.Sip water through the day .
3. Use humidifiers they increase saliva
4. Avoid alcohol and caffeine .
5.There are a number of products that increase saliva and prevent dry mouth XyliMelts for dry mouth is one of the best .
6.Mouthwash
Many persons use mouthwash to keep their breath fresh , to fight bacteria and as an alternative to brushing but mouthwash with alcohol actually just give you temperate relieve of bad breath but overtime it dries your mouth reduces saliva resulting in bacteria increase and persistent bad breath.
Solution:
1.Use non alcoholic mouthwash and those which contain chlorine dioxide they kill the volatile sulfur which cause bad breath
2.If your dry mouth persist it can be more serious condition visit your doctor.
7.Your gum
Gum disease also known as periodontal disease is another health problem associated with bad breath . Periodontal disease is the infection of the teeth gum and bone surrounding the teeth it is the result of plaque buildup which is not easy to see with the eye the bacteria in the plaque invades the gum and start to produce toxins which causes damage and bad breath . Gum disease is not always noticeable until we start to see bleeding ,swelling and tender gum or gum pulling away from your teeth .So if you have persistent bad breath and different method didn’t work this could be one of the causes.
Solution:
1.Visit your dentist periodontal probing should be done to check if you have the disease.
2.There also a number of over the counter treatment for periodontal problems you can use.
8.Foods and diets
The number one foods that cause bad breath are onions and garlic they produce sulphur compound which cause bad breath. Curry and spicy food can also cause bad breath.
Low carb diet can also gives you bad breath example of such diets is Atkins diets.
High protein diets such as Paleo diet also lead to bad breath ,protein breakdown in the intestine heat up your alimentary canal resulting in dry mouth and which causes bad breath.
Solution :
1.Eat more cooling foods like cucumber celery watermelon pears and apple .
2.Use probiotic foods such as yogurt
Conclusion
Most temporary bad breath problems can be dealt with personally but the persistent ones you cannot solve .You may need to see a dentist some illness such as cancer , flu , cold and diabetes can cause bad breath also so visit your doctor.
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