What Can You Do About Bad Breath?

Engaging in conversations with other people contributes to a significant part of our daily activities. It obviously would hurt if your friend, spouse, relative, or colleague gets a frown on their faces or outrightly cover their noses while you speak.

Bad breath is otherwise called halitosis. It is a common dental occurrence that could result in significant psychological distress in a person who has it. This article seeks to query any connection between smoking and bad breath, which amongst other causes is chief.

Kindly read further.

Causes Of Bad Breath?

Most of these start in the mouth and are pretty many. Some include:

Poor oral hygiene: Not brushing and flossing daily causes food particles to remain in your mouth and then cause bad breath, forming a colorless, sticky film of bacteria known as plaque on your teeth. If you don’t brush plaque away, it can irritate your gums and eventually cause periodontitis. Your tongue also can trap bacteria that produce odors. Dentures that aren’t cleaned regularly or fit properly can harbor odor-causing bacteria and food particles.

Tobacco products: Smokers and oral tobacco users are also more likely to have gum disease, another source of bad breath. Smoking itself causes its unpleasant mouth odor and teeth and gum stain.

Food: The breakdown of food particles in and around your teeth can increase bacteria and cause a foul odor. Eating certain foods, such as onions, garlic, and spices, can cause bad breath.

Mouth Infections: Surgical wounds can cause bad breath after oral surgery, such as tooth removal, tooth decay, gum disease, or mouth sores.

Dry mouth: Saliva helps cleanse your mouth, removing particles that cause foul odors. A condition called dry mouth or xerostomia can contribute to bad breath because saliva production drops. Dry mouth naturally occurs during sleep, leading to “morning breath.”

Medications: Some medications can indirectly produce bad breath by contributing to dry mouth. The body can break others down to release chemicals that others can perceive on your breath.

Other causes: Diseases, such as some cancers, and metabolic disorders, can cause a distinctive breath odor resulting from chemicals they produce. Chronic reflux of stomach acids can also be associated with bad breath. It can be due to a foreign body, such as a piece of food, lodged in a nostril in young children.

Is Smoking Giving You Bad Breath?

This is usually difficult to assess because you don’t know how your breath smells most times. However, people who typically smoke have what is commonly known as smoker’s breath, a stale scent resulting from the cigarette smoke that lingers in your throat and lungs. Smoking also leaves chemical compounds in your mouth that mix with your saliva and cause bad breath. Also, the mouth can become dried out due to smoking, decreasing your saliva production, thus giving the compounds from the cigarette and other bacteria in the mouth the thriving opportunity without any saliva available to control their activities.

What Is The Best Medication For Bad Breath?

Well, the best way to prevent bad breath is to maintain good oral hygiene, although mouthwashes containing antibacterial agents like cetylpyridinium chloride, chlorhexidine, or hydrogen peroxide could be effective.

Preventing Bad Breath: What To Do.

● Brush your teeth at least twice a day, after meals, with fluoridated toothpaste.
● Avoid tobacco smoking and chewing tobacco-based products.
● Rinse and gargle with an alcohol-free mouthwash before bed.
● If you have a dry mouth, make sure to drink enough fluids throughout the day and use over-the-counter moisturizing agents, such as a dry mouth spray, rinses, or dry mouth moisturizing gel.
● Visit endodontics near you regularly for specialist care.
There are dentists in Peoria, AZ, who are readily available if you need the services of a dentist near you.

Visit us at Westbrook Village Dental to get quality treatment for bad breath.