Do you have bad breath? Do people keep off when you speak, yawn or breath? Are you wondering what the issue could be? You could be suffering from bad breath, also known as mouth odor.
Mouth odor is embarrassing and can be a life-changing event. It can distance you from people due to shame from horrible breath. This can be frustrating to the point that you feel lonely. It can be traumatizing, especially for young children and adults who have low self-esteem issues. It just magnifies esteem problems.
Chalet Dental Care – St Paul’s has come to set a permanent smile and bring back confidence in you by eliminating bad breath and unpleasant odor. It has also come for your specific and general dental health needs. Chalet Dental Care is a fully registered facility and member of the American Dental Hygienists Association for over twenty years, offering dental health solutions in Como Park, Highland Park, Macalester – Groveland, among other areas.
Causes of Bad Breath
Poor Dental Hygiene
Bad breath is also known as bad breath halitosis. Its causes include poor oral hygiene. Poor oral hygiene is one of the leading causes of bad breath or mouth odor. A dirty mouth has food particles stuck, leading to a sticky buildup of bad breath bacteria called plaque forming on your teeth, which eventually cause bad breath halitosis among other related dental health conditions associated with bad breath. The uneven surface of the tongue, and tonsils speed up the trapping of food particles and odor-causing bacteria in the mouth to produce odor.
Poor dental hygiene has also resulted in other oral health problems such as gum disease, periodontal disease, and cavities. These conditions fuel mouth odor. The best defense against mouth odor is consistent and good oral hygiene. You can use an antibacterial mouthwash to eliminate poor dental hygiene and kill bacteria.
Dead cells in the mouth collect bacteria easily, leading to a bad smell. With a bad smell in the mouth, foods or drinks such as orange juice among others taste bad. When you taste foods and feel these signs, it is time to visit a dentist. You should also watch out for bad morning breath. Saliva flowing from your mouth, a condition known as drooling, also causes bad breath and needs treatment.
Flavored Food and Drink
Eating flavored food and drink is one of the causes of bad breath odors. After eating foods like onions, garlic, and certain vegetables, odor-causing food particles enter the bloodstream and are carried to the lungs, where they stimulate the production of bad odors as you breathe.
Coffee
Coffee is another source of breath odor. Coffee has an intense flavor which consequently produces saliva. After drinking coffee, the caffeine leads to a decline in saliva production. If you do not have enough saliva, there will be an increase in the production of bad breath bacteria, and as a result, fueling breath odor.
Alcohol
Alcohol consumption is another cause of bad breath. The more you drink, the more likely you are to experience mouth odor. Excess drinking causes a decrease in the production of saliva, creating a good environment for bad breath causing bacteria to grow, thus stimulating breath odor.
High Sugar Content
High sugar Diets with proteins can also cause an unpleasant smell. A diet high in sugar fuels bad breath halitosis as sugars interact with the existing bacteria in your mouth. These include chewing gum, sweets, biscuits, and spicy foods. The bacteria feed on sugars turning sweet treats into bad odors.
High-Protein or Low-Carb Diets
Carbohydrates serve crucial functions in our bodies, and if your diet is low enough in carbs, this will cause bad breath. When the body doesn’t get enough carbs due to an extreme diet, this can cause changes to your body’s metabolism, causing bad breath. High-protein foods are sometimes difficult for your body to digest and tend to release sulfurous gases when they don’t metabolize. Avoid this by eating a more balanced and nutritious diet including more vegetables and herbs.
Smoking
Smoking also has a large effect on causing unpleasant smells. Smoking leaves the mouth as an ashtray. It also damages gums, leading to serious oral health problems such as gum disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, kidney disease, tooth decay, acid reflux, stomach acids, mild form, salivary gland problems, and magnifying existing oral health conditions associated with bad breath. Chewing tobacco-based products also have a similar effect.
Dry Mouth
A dry mouth also causes an unpleasant odor. Saliva keeps your mouth clean by removing food particles that produce odors. With dry mouth, xerostomia storms in, leading to a bad smell. If you have persistent dry mouth and bad breath persists, that is a warning sign that you should have your bad breath medically reviewed for help.
Prescription Drug
Prescription medication can also cause bad breath odors, especially those that have dry mouth side effects. Dry mouth occurs when the production of saliva decreases. Creating an environment for odor-causing bacteria to thrive. Also, certain medications are broken down in the body and release chemicals that are carried through your bloodstream to your breath, causing smelly breath in turn.
Prevent Bad Breath
Good Oral Hygiene
Bad breath can be prevented in several ways. First is practicing good oral hygiene to prevent maintaining good oral hygiene. Brushing teeth after every meal will help maintain clean teeth and use a tongue scraper for your teeth. Bacteria on the tongue can cause bad breath. Use floss or an interdental cleaner to remove food particles and plaque between teeth at least once a day. Rinse with an antibacterial mouthwash twice a day.
Add Flouride
You can add fluoride in your daily routine rinse to prevent tooth decay. If there are dentures, the dentist determines how you should handle the cleaning and provide medical advice on the right way to handle the case, thus you should see a dentist regularly to provide medical advice on how to deal with bad breath.
Oral Exam
You should see your family doctor or family physicians for other treatments and a dentist for an oral exam and determine underlying health problems as well as carry out professional teeth cleaning. They will detect and treat any diseases, dry mouth, gum disease, or other problems that may cause bad breath. Keeping your mouth open while breathing results in the epiglottis. It can also be caused by smoking when a foreign body is introduced to the mouth. The foreign body causes infection, resulting in the spread of infection thus bad breath.
Drink Plenty of Water
Also, avoid smoking and chewing tobacco products. Drink lots of water to keep your mouth moist. Keeping your mouth moist will help reduce incidences of dry mouth. Chewing sugarless gum or sucking on sugarless to stimulate the production of saliva. Chewing sugarless gum and mints containing xylitol is a good recommendation. However, chewing sugarless gum will temporarily mask bad breath. When bacteria release chemicals, causing bad breath, the bad breath will not disappear unless you see a dentist for help.
Dental Treatment for Bad Breath
A dentist can help with bad breath in many ways. The dentist can recommend dental teeth cleaning, periodontal disease treatment, root canal treatment, oral surgery and offer general dentistry services to young children and adults, and recommend artificial saliva as well as other treatments to help deal with bad breath.
Eliminate Bad Breath, Consult the Caring Dental Professionals in St. Paul
Over the years, many dentists temporarily mask bad breath through quick fixes. However, Chalet Dental Care – St Paul Dentists have come to replace that with permanent oral health solutions. We treat both adults and young children. We also carry out specialized and general dentistry, ranging from comprehensive to cosmetic dentistry. Call us on (651) 413-9150 to book your appointment. You can also drop us a message on our website and a team member will reach out to you.