Bad breath is unpleasant for the affected person and can be triggered by various causes. We explain here what reasons there may be for acute or chronic bad breath. Our guide will show you the various bad breath causes and how to prevent and treat bad breath.
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Prevent and treat bad breath
1. How bad breath is created
It is helpful to know how the problem starts if you want to prevent and treat bad breath. Bad breath always occurs when leftover food remains in the teeth and tooth spaces as well as in the oral cavity remain on the tongue and then cause unpleasant odours due to rotting and the formation of bacteria. There are many aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in the mouth, which make up a normal oral flora. If these are in balance, the breathing air smells normal. Only when an imbalance in the oral flora arises, for example due to psychological causes such as stress or depression, and the odor-forming bacteria predominate, can a bad smelling breath occur.
Tip: A doctor’s examination gives you more security to prevent and treat bad breath, during which you can perform an analysis of the breathing air with a halimeter device.
2. What are the causes of bad breath?
Inflammatory diseases in the stomach and intestines or food intolerances can cause bad breath and then significantly affect your health. A sour bad breath or extreme bad breath, for example, can only be eliminated by treating the disease, which is why you should definitely consult a doctor if the bad breath persists for a long time (usually also known as chronic bad breath).
Even if you eat a lot of protein and sugar and don’t brush your teeth thoroughly afterwards, bacteria have the chance to multiply and cause bad breath. If you eat raw onions (accompanied by bloating) or garlic, drink a lot of coffee and smoke often develop a bad breath, but after some time it disappears.
Even if you don’t eat or drink for a long time, this usually leads to an unpleasant smell from your mouth, for example during fasting or in the morning after getting up. Bad breath is also caused by various diseases, which have, among other things, a bad bad breath as a symptom. For example, bacterial infections of the throat, nose, throat (e.g. inflammation of the tonsils) or gastrointestinal problems.
In most cases, bad breath can be corrected by careful dental hygiene and oral care, in other cases the doctor is required, who can find the exact cause and then treat it with appropriate therapy.
Another cause of bad breath may also be snoring. Since the mouth is open for a long time at night, the saliva flow decreases, which makes a morning bad breath too happy to arise. But bad bad breath doesn’t have to be. It is important that you first identify the causes so that you can act accordingly.
A buildup of bacteria might also cause cavities and a variety of other dental issues.
3. Detecting bad breath
Certain bad breath causes and typical discomfort often go hand in hand, a metallic bad breath or sweet bad breath can indicate, for example, a disease. However, the person concerned does not always notice that he suffers from bad breath. And people often don’t dare to say anything, as it could be embarrassing to the person concerned.
If you are unsure whether you can smell from your mouth, you can easily find out for yourselfwith a simple test. You can spit and seal some saliva in a screwed glass. After about three to five minutes, open the lid and smell it. Alternatively, you can breathe into an airtight bag and then hold it. Then smell the enclosed airby slowly opening the bag.
In case of strong bad breath, which does not have its cause in the mouth, the breathing air generally and always badly, even when the mouth is closed. The air that then flows out of the nose also smells bad and is an indication that the causes are not to be found in the mouth. However, this only affects about 10 percent of peoplewho have bad breath.
By the way: Slight bad breath in the baby or slight bad breath in the dog does not have to disturb it. This is quite normal. Here, the causes of bad breath are rather due to the fact that they cannot take care of their own oral hygiene.
4. Can the cause be detected by the smell?
There are special types of bad breath that are typical of certain diseases, such as a metallic bad breath, sweet bad breath or when it smells of acetone. Tooth decay or gum inflammation only causes a slightly rotten smell.
In the case of diabetes mellitus, on the other hand, it is a conspicuous ketone smell (aromatic-fruit-like) that the breathing air smells of. In the case of a present stomach ailment, the breathing air emits a sour smell,in the case of tonsillitis, the breathing air smells rather rotten and in the case of a kidney disease after urine or ammonia.
But what causes fecal bad breath after feces? This may be the cause of bad breath in the stomach. But not only that. In addition, the causes of bad breath can be caused by intestinal, in which certain chemical changes of amino acids cause the feces-like odor.
5. Next steps
If you have bad breath despite brushing your teeth, so you notice an unpleasant smell with good oral care and dental hygiene as well as normal eating and drinking habits, the first course should lead to the dentist. Maybe your gums have become inflamed, a tooth root is attacked or tooth decay has formed. If the dentist finds nothing, your GP can usually help you find the cause.
6. Medicines as a cause of bad breath
Certain medications have an unpleasant bad breath as a side effect. Bad bad breath is then usually listed in the package leaflet as a possible side effect, which is why you should definitely read it carefully if you notice bad breath. Possibly a change of the drug can already remedy this. Typical is the side effect bad breath, for example in appetite suppressants or medications for depression and high blood pressure.
7. Conclusion
Causes of bad breath can be of different nature – whether you want to investigate the causes of bad breath in children or the causes of bad breath in adults. The most common bad breath causes and typical discomfortthat come with it, you should now know. Ninety percent of this can be fixed with mouthwash, toothbrush and floss, tongue scraper, chewing gum, lollipops or the right diet.
If this does not work and you still notice bad breath despite brushing your teeth, going to the doctor is essential, for example, because bad breath causes can affect the intestines or bad breath causes the stomach. This can detect the bad breath causes and initiate the appropriate treatment. By the way: A slight bad breath in the baby as well as bad breath in dogs or cats is completely normal.
