Bad breath. Bad breath. Main causes of bad breath

18.09.2020

Good afternoon, dear readers of this site. If you are interested in dental and oral care, you will find a lot of interesting things here. The new article is devoted to a topical issue for every person. I will tell you about how to get rid of bad breath and why it occurs in many people.

You have noticed more than once that one of your acquaintances or strangers cannot be called fresh breath. For the same reason, you yourself carry mint gum or a small spray bottle of special freshener with you. So why not learn about what to do with this universal problem?

Bad breath

Even bad breath in medicine has a special name. Dentists use the term halitosis when talking about a similar phenomenon. What is it? Most often, halitosis is the result of poor hygiene. Food leftovers serve as "food" for numerous bacteria. A bacterial coating appears on the tongue and mucous membrane. All this smells not the best way and does not disappear anywhere after rinsing and brushing your teeth. Some people do not think about such a problem for years until someone reprimands them.

The appearance of halitosis also depends on what we eat. Sweet, carbohydrate foods are ideal for the multiplication of numerous pathogens.

Bad breath

Causes of bad breath in adults

The first factor to be mentioned is the specifics of oral care. Not everyone knows how to do it right. We tend to think that the problem is solely with bacteria, which is plaque. Not at all. Our main enemy sits in the deep rear - on the surface of the cheeks and tongue. Who of you, dear readers takes into account this factor? Not everyone. When the question arises about cleaning the root of the tongue, for many this is perplexing. Yes, it is difficult, and someone even has a gag reflex.

But good hygiene involves cleaning the entire mouth, not just the teeth. The fewer harmful bacteria left, the fewer sources of bad smell.

At the same time, for many people, bad breath is not associated with poor hygiene. They regularly brush their teeth, use it, and even do not forget about the language, but the problem does not disappear anywhere. What does it mean? In most cases, the problem is related to the condition of the teeth and gums. If there are untreated teeth, periodontal inflammation, etc., this leads to the multiplication of bacteria. The products of their vital activity, the soft and hard tissues destroyed by them - all this becomes biological garbage and, in fact, turns our oral cavity into a dump. As we all know, the smell of a landfill is hardly pleasant.

Another reason - serious illness GIT. If problems occur in the body, sooner or later you will find out about them. With dysbacteriosis and other problems with the intestines, such problems appear regularly.

So, doctors believe that stale foods, soda and fast food, getting into our body, lead to reactions, as a result of which gases are released. They come to the surface through our mouth and have a fetid odor.

Smoking can also be the cause. The smell of tobacco, mixed with fumes or the smell of decomposed food residues, creates combinations that can “impress” an unprepared person. Therefore, there are two options - do not smoke or always brush your teeth, rinse your mouth with fresheners and remove all possible sources of odor. Better not to smoke. Because this process leads to drying of the mucosa. This, in turn, causes a lot of diseases of the oral cavity, the reproduction of bacteria.

Alcohol also causes the aforementioned fume. It does not matter what kind of drink you have consumed, whether it is alcohol-based or created by fermentation. In any case, you are waiting for not only the consequences for the body, but also the “ambre” from the mouth.

There is also a small list of stinky products. Their use is 100% likely to cause an odor.

Meat is another possible reason

Bad breath is a very common occurrence among us. The reason for this are various diseases of the digestive system.

Halitosis is another problem in communicating with other people. Modern medicine calls such a condition when a person’s mouth smells of an extremely unpleasant odor - halitosis. In Latin - Halitoz.

In fact, halitosis cannot be called an independent disease; rather, it is a sign of pathological processes occurring in the body. In the absence of proper oral care, bad odor increases, causing discomfort not only to the patient, but also to others.

In this article, we will look at why adults develop bad breath, what are the main causes of this symptom, and how to get rid of it at home.

How to check if your breath smells?

Many people who have unpleasant repulsive breath are not even aware of the problem. Well if close person or a friend points it out. But this is not always possible, relatives are afraid to offend a loved one, and colleagues prefer to reduce communication with him to a minimum. But the problem remains.

There are several ways to test yourself:

Wrist test. Here it will be enough to lick the wrist and let the saliva dry. The smell that you will smell after a few seconds is the smell of the front of your tongue. As a rule, it is much weaker than what it actually is, because the front of the tongue is cleaned by our saliva, which contains antibacterial components, while the back of the tongue, in turn, is the very breeding ground for unpleasant odors.
You can also try breathe into your palm and instantly smell what you exhale. Or try sticking out your lower lip, pushing your jaw forward a little, and roll your upper lip inward and exhale sharply with your mouth, then smell what you exhaled.
Spoon test. Take a teaspoon, turn it over and run it over the surface of your tongue several times. A little white coating or saliva will remain on the spoon. The smell emanating from them is the smell of your breath.

Additional signs include the formation of plaque on the tongue, inflammation of the mucous membrane, a feeling of an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth. These symptoms do not directly indicate halitosis and may vary, depending on the cause of the disease and the presence of complicating factors.

Causes of bad breath

The causes of halitosis can vary greatly, but before looking for them, you need to make sure that this smell really exists. Modern doctors distinguish several types of halitosis:

True halitosis, in which unpleasant breathing is objectively noticed by people around. The reasons for its occurrence may be related to the peculiarities of physiology, insufficient oral hygiene, metabolic processes in the body, or be symptoms of certain diseases.
Pseudogalitosis is a subtle bad breath that can be felt on close contact with a person. Usually in such a situation, the patient exaggerates the problem and it is solved quite simply by strengthening oral hygiene.
Halitophobia is a person's belief in the smell from his mouth, however, this is not confirmed by either the dentist or the people around him.

Also according to the statistics:

80% of the causes of bad breath are associated with problems in the oral cavity.
10% with ENT diseases.
only 5-10% with serious diseases of internal organs and systems - the liver, kidneys, organs of the gastrointestinal tract, organs of the respiratory system, hormonal disruptions, metabolic disorders, autoimmune and oncological diseases.

The most basic thing to understand is that the main cause of bad breath coming from the human mouth is the vital activity of anaerobic bacteria (that is, bacteria that grow and multiply without oxygen). Their waste products - volatile sulfur compounds - are the very smelly gases that smell very unpleasant and lead to bad breath in humans.

Why does bad breath occur?

But there are many reasons that lead to the multiplication of these bacteria. We will analyze them in detail:

Poor oral hygiene. Most often, putrid breath is associated with poor oral hygiene, for example, when a person does not use dental floss to clean the interdental spaces from food debris. Surely many of you have felt the stink of the mouth of colleagues who had a bite to eat at work, but did not brush their teeth.
gum disease(and periodontitis). The cause of these ailments is poor oral hygiene, soft microbial plaque and hard tartar. When the amount of toxins secreted by the microorganisms of plaque and calculus exceeds the capabilities of the local immunity of the oral cavity, inflammation develops in the gums.
. Carious defects of the teeth are filled with a huge amount of pathogenic microflora and food remains always remain in them. This food and tooth tissue quickly begin to rot and, as a result, your breath smells bad. If you want to eliminate bad breath, first of all you need to cure bad teeth.
Tartar development- dental plaque that seeps through mineral salts (calcium salts) with its hardening and the development of a chronic infection in it. More often, tartar is the result of gum pathology (gingival pockets), which loosely cover the necks of the teeth and the spaces between their lateral edges.
Diseases of the digestive system( , ). In this case, this problem is caused by the pathology of non-closure of the esophageal sphincter, when odors from the stomach penetrate directly through the esophagus into the oral cavity.
. Those who suffer from chronic inflammation of the tonsils - the same smells bad from the mouth. If you have a weak immune system or a lot of infection in the oral cavity, then in this case, periodic inflammation of the tonsils can develop into a sluggish chronic form of inflammation. People who suffer from this form of inflammation of the tonsils often complain of terrible breath.
- inflammatory disease, which is accompanied by the formation of ulcers on the oral mucosa. Ulcers and dense white plaque are the source of halitosis.
- an inflammatory process in the membrane of the tongue, which can occur in conjunction with gingivitis or stomatitis.
Intestinal pathology(enteritis and). As a result of inflammatory processes in the intestines, toxic substances enter the bloodstream, which the body removes, including through the lungs, as a result of which bad breath appears.
Another common cause of halitosis is dry mouth: saliva does not moisturize or clean the mouth by washing away plaque and dead cells. Thus, the cells located on the gums, the inner surface of the cheeks and the tongue decompose, causing halitosis. Dry mouth can be caused by the use of alcohol, certain medications, pathologies of the salivary glands, and so on.
Medications: Many medications, including antihistamines and diuretics, can cause dry mouth, which can cause bad breath. This odor and treatment are often intertwined - a number of drugs can lead to bad odor (insulin, triamterene, paraldehyde, and many others).
Quite often, the cause of bad breath is some products. Of course, onion and garlic are rightfully considered champions here. However, after noisy feasts with a lot of meat and fatty foods, bad breath can also appear. True, and it passes pretty soon.
Tobacco products: Smoking and chewing tobacco leave chemicals that linger in the mouth. Smoking can also precipitate other causes of bad breath, such as gum disease or oral cancer.

No matter how many different reasons cause bad breath, bacteria are the source of all problems. They are always in our oral cavity, creating a certain microflora there. Any living organism, and bacteria is no exception, when eating, produces waste products, which are volatile sulfur compounds. It is these fetid sulphurous volatile compounds that we feel from the mouth.

Experts believe that one of the most obvious reasons for its appearance is the white matter that accumulates on the back of the tongue. It occurs when a person brushes his teeth incorrectly, leaving the tongue unattended.

How to treat bad breath

In the event of bad breath, treatment is a separate topic of conversation, but what can be done to prevent it from appearing is important to know even for those who do not suffer from such a problem. After all, bad breath, if it appears, cannot be masked later with mint candy.

As noted above, food particles left after eating are the breeding ground for bacteria. That is why so much depends on oral hygiene. It is recommended to take care that after eating there are no pieces of food left in the mouth, which, among other things, contribute to the formation of plaque and tartar. This requires:

brush your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush three times a day to remove food particles left in your mouth and stuck in your teeth;
clean interdental spaces with dental floss;
clean the back of the tongue daily with a soft-bristled brush;
to stimulate salivation, regularly eat fresh fruits and vegetables, adhere to a diet;
to eliminate xerostomia (dry mouth), rinse your mouth with warm water;
visit the dentist regularly.

At home, rinsing with vegetable oil helps to get rid of bad breath. To do this, take a small portion of the oil in your mouth and hold it there for 10-15 minutes. The oil has a good property to dissolve all decay products. Then spit and rinse your mouth thoroughly. You can't swallow this oil! With the correct procedure, the oil should become cloudy.

The ability to remove an unpleasant odor is possessed by infusions of herbs such as peppermint, string, cumin, bitter wormwood. To clean the pockets in the gums, it is good to use a rinse after eating with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, diluted with water 1: 1. Peroxide will clean even the deepest pockets well and eliminate the problem.

In addition to this, there is a large number of modern means of quickly getting rid of bad breath: aerosol fresheners, chewing gum, lollipops, etc. They are characterized by both rapid effectiveness and low stability, due to the short duration of action.

Which doctor to contact

If a bad breath appears, you need to contact a dentist, undergo a professional cleaning of your teeth, cure diseases of your teeth, gums, and get rid of tartar.

If there is no effect, you need to consult a gastroenterologist, and in more rare cases, an ENT doctor (for sinusitis or chronic rhinitis), a pulmonologist (for bronchiectasis), an endocrinologist (for diabetes mellitus).

Odor from the mouth is a common phenomenon among the adult population, which can bring a lot of trouble to a person. It often becomes a serious barrier to communication, affects the state of a person, causing depression of mood. The symptom is easy to overcome if you know the cause of the occurrence.

In medicine, bad breath is called halitosis. It is considered the norm from a physiological point of view, if it manifests itself in the morning after waking up. Eliminated by brushing teeth and rinsing the mouth. Other causes of stench from the oral cavity are known:

Food with a strong odor.
Poor oral hygiene.
Dental diseases.
Pathology of the gastrointestinal tract.
Nasopharyngeal infection.
Bad habits - smoking and drinking alcohol-containing products.
Reception medicines.
Diseases of the thyroid gland.

In women during menstruation, bad breath is often observed. This is due to hormonal changes.

Bad breath is caused by bacteria that are present in the human mouth. When the number of bacteria exceeds the allowable values, the stench becomes unbearable. Some are able to cause a putrid smell, others - a heavy aroma of rotten meat.

Improper oral hygiene

Most often, bad breath occurs in people who brush their teeth incorrectly or pay insufficient attention to oral hygiene. If a person forgets to brush their teeth or does not use dental floss after eating, bad breath will begin to haunt throughout the day.

It is important not only to clean your teeth from plaque, but also to carefully remove them, rinse your mouth well after brushing.

Plaque on the root of the tongue

Human language is an indicator of health. In a person who is not affected by inflammatory processes, infections, the tongue is pink, the papillae of the organ are not enlarged. A yellow or white coating with an unpleasant stench indicates that bacteria live and actively multiply.

The color of the tongue can change with a disease of the internal organs, with the use of alcoholic beverages or smoking. Plaque often forms in people who take poor care of their oral cavity.

Dry mouth

A common cause of halitosis is dry mouth. Microbes and dead cells are not washed away by saliva. Cells begin to decompose, causing halitosis. Dry mouth is a frequent companion of people whose water-salt balance is disturbed. Occurs after the use of drugs or a large amount of alcohol.

With prolonged use of a number of drugs, dryness in the cavity and a sharp unpleasant odor occur.

If dryness becomes chronic, we are talking about a disease called xerostomia.

Dental diseases

Pathological processes occurring in the oral cavity are always accompanied by an unpleasant odor. Among the common diseases are:

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease in which the integrity of the bone ligaments that hold the tooth is broken. A purulent focus appears in the upper part of the root.
Pulpitis is an inflammatory process in the internal tissue of the tooth. The disease is accompanied by a putrid stench.
Gingivitis is inflammation of the gums. In a severe form, the gums bleed, a terrible smell comes from the mouth.
Periodontitis is an inflammation of the tissues surrounding the tooth.
Caries is a sluggish pathological process of destruction of hard tooth tissues.

With such processes, microbes and bacteria multiply perfectly in a favorable environment for them. To eliminate a strange smell, you need to visit a dental office and undergo treatment. It may be necessary to remove diseased teeth or roots. If the teeth are in order, the cause of halitosis is in diseases of the internal organs.

Diseases of the internal organs

A bad odor is present with healthy teeth - the cause of this phenomenon is seen as a disease of the gastrointestinal tract. If the dentist has not identified problems with the gums, teeth, and there is an incomprehensible smell, you need to contact a gastroenterologist.

With the smell of feces, the patient is often diagnosed with dysbacteriosis. A similar symptom is present with intestinal obstruction.

Symptoms indicate poisoning: the smell of a rotten egg, fever, weakness, nausea.

With a stomach ulcer, a bitter or sour taste and stench appear. With gastritis, there is swelling, nausea and vomiting, the smell of hydrogen sulfide or rotten eggs.

Ammonia aroma means that the patient has kidney disease.

If the patient has a problem with the thyroid gland, the smell of iodine appears due to the oversaturation of the body with the substance. The aroma of acetone is provoked by an infectious disease.

Stress

Nervousness, stress, depression often become the causes of such a nuisance. When emotional balance is restored, the pathological process stops.

To prevent a symptom, you need to carefully monitor your health. Avoid stressful situations.

Nutrition and bad habits

Often times food is the culprit. Some foods have a strong flavor on their own, and when they are eaten, the flavor comes from the mouth naturally.

A specific smell comes from a smoking person. The reason is that the substances contained in the cigarette are deposited on the teeth, mucous membranes. It is possible to get rid of amber forever. You need to quit the bad habit.

Causes of halitosis in a child

Signs of halitosis can be observed in children. A child without dental diseases has fresher breath. If an adult notices an unpleasant smell in the baby, but hygiene rules are observed, you need to show the child to the pediatrician. Perhaps the smell appeared due to a malfunction in the gastrointestinal tract. The doctor will prescribe a diagnosis and treatment. The breach will go away quickly.

In addition to dental and gastric pathologies, bad breath from the baby's mouth is often caused by:

Diseases of the nasopharynx, throat;
Eating fatty foods;
Emotional overstrain and childhood stress;
Moisture deficiency.

Diagnostics

It is not always possible to independently determine the freshness of one's own breath. AT medical institution the doctor conducts diagnostics using a special device - a halimeter. If the device confirms the presence of deviations, a laboratory study of plaque and the oral cavity will be required. Diagnostics helps to find out why the stench appeared.

If an unpleasant odor is associated with diseases of the digestive system, diagnostic measures are prescribed:

Urinalysis;
Endoscopy;
Ultrasound diagnostics.

Some procedures cause discomfort to the patient, but thanks to the intervention, it is possible to find out why the person is haunted by the phenomenon.

How to get rid of bad breath

To avoid unpleasant odor and the problems provoked by it, it is necessary to pay special attention not only to oral hygiene, but also to the body as a whole. Regular visits to the dentist, gastroenterologist, careful care of the gums, teeth, tongue will contribute to fresh breath.

To keep your breath fresh, you need to clean your mouth well from food debris, use high-quality toothpaste and a suitable brush.

Toothpaste should be from a trusted manufacturer, remove plaque well, freshen breath. A toothbrush is selected with medium hardness for adults and soft for children. You can purchase an ultrasonic brush equipped with a timer. Such devices clean out food residues well, and the timer indicates the recommended duration of the procedure.

To clean your teeth throughout the day, experts recommend using dental floss after each snack.

Mint chewing gum or mint candy without sugar in the composition will help to kill the unpleasant aroma.

Treatment for dental problems

Any diseases of the gums and teeth can be accompanied by an unpleasant odor. In this case, a visit to the dentist is required. For prevention, a visit to the dentist is provided once every six months. Getting rid of bad odors is easy. It is enough to cure an unhealthy tooth or undergo regular cleaning of restoration structures with a special device in the doctor's office, and the smell will disappear.

Treatment of odor in infections of the larynx and nasopharynx

Diseases of the nasopharynx, larynx are often accompanied by a fetid odor, which is impossible to get rid of without eliminating the pathological process itself.

For treatment, it is often necessary to gargle with a solution of furacilin or other disinfecting solutions. Tonsils need to be treated with streptocide. Tablets of the drug are dissolved in water, then the throat is rinsed.

If a terrible smell is associated with sinusitis, it is necessary to use antibacterial agents, for example, Azithromycin. Drops with vasoconstrictive properties. It is important to wash the nasopharynx, clean it from accumulations of pus.

In men or women, bad breath from the mouth always causes a lot of communication difficulties. Treatment measures should not be aimed only at getting rid of the symptom, eliminating the cause is an important step on the path to recovery.

Treatment with folk remedies

AT traditional medicine many universal methods are described, by resorting to which it will be possible to freshen your breath at home, without medicines. You can use the funds for halitosis caused by any pathologies or processes. The very cause of the stench cannot be permanently removed, but the breath will be made fresh without risk to health.

Hydrogen peroxide

A popular home remedy for bad breath. Effective as peroxide has antibacterial properties. Well eliminates microorganisms. People who have used the rinse solution have noticed that the product whitens teeth well.

In its pure form, the use of peroxide is contraindicated. Rinse your mouth with a solution. Dissolve three teaspoons of peroxide in half a glass of warm water. Rinse at least three times a day.

If during the procedure a slight burning sensation is felt and the formation of white foam is observed, it means that there are wounds in the mouth that are disinfected when rinsing.

Hydrogen peroxide must not be swallowed. A solution of strong concentration can burn the mucous membrane of the mouth and esophagus. A solution is purchased at a pharmacy.

Activated carbon

Activated charcoal is a well-known absorbent that absorbs toxic substances and removes them from the human body. The drug is safe, used for various diseases, including pathologies that cause a strong fetid odor from the mouth. The medicine helps to eliminate odor and improves the general well-being of a person.

The drug is taken in courses. On average, the course is one to two weeks.

Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil helps fight bad breath. The product must be of high quality. To eliminate the repulsive odor, you will need to rinse your mouth with oil for 3 minutes. Then spit it out and rinse the cavity with boiled water. Carry out the procedure at least twice a day.

It is possible to add salt to the oil and also rinse your mouth.

Herbs

Folk recipes for the treatment of bad breath include courses of rinsing with herbal infusions and decoctions.

Mix wormwood leaves, chamomile and strawberries in equal proportions and pour boiling water over. Insist herbs for at least half an hour and strain through a sieve.
Peppermint tea is an excellent remedy to help get rid of bad breath. Tea calms well, fights insomnia.
Peppermint decoction can be used in place of mouthwash.
A decoction of oak bark will quickly eliminate an unpleasant odor. Pour a tablespoon of chopped bark with a glass of boiling water and insist. Strain, cool and start rinsing.
Calamus will help to overcome the specific aroma. The grass is poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for an hour. Then it is filtered. Rinse with infusion should be at least twice a day.
You can remove the symptom with the help of infusion of oxal leaves. Fresh leaves are poured with water, put on a heated stove and boiled for a quarter of an hour. The broth is insisted and filtered. Take two sips before meals four times a day.
It will be possible to destroy the bacteria by taking a decoction of magnolia bark. The tool is able to kill 90% of pathogenic microflora. Pour a tablespoon of bark with 200 ml of boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes. Rinse your mouth three times a day.

Other folk ways

You can eliminate the unpleasant smell with folk remedies after eating, if there is a meeting or negotiations ahead. Recipes:

Grind ginger root into powder. After eating, take half a teaspoon of the powder orally.
Helps with the smell of aniseed. Chew the seeds before breakfast.
It is useful to eat a couple of apples before meals in the morning. The fruit saves from an unpleasant smell and normalizes the work of the stomach.
Parsley will help against the smell of onions and garlic. Chew on a sprig of grass and the smell will disappear.
Roasted sunflower seeds effectively mask the smell.
The best remedy for bad breath is apple cider vinegar. Dissolve a teaspoon of a natural remedy in a glass of water and rinse your mouth for several minutes.
You can get rid of the unpleasant smell by chewing the fruits of the juniper tree.
With periodontal disease, propolis will help to cope with halitosis. Propolis tincture well relieves bad odor.
To eliminate the symptom, try making a remedy from chamomile and honey. You need to finely crush the flowers and mix a teaspoon of grass with two tablespoons of honey. Take a teaspoon before meals.
You can get rid of the strong onion flavor by chewing coffee beans or pine needles.
succeeds with the help of Corvalol. The option is doubtful, but alcohol will disguise.
Nutmeg will give a fresh pleasant aroma to the breath.

Effective home remedies can help fight halitosis, clean your mouth, eliminate bacteria, and reduce or eliminate bad breath. But they are not able to save a person from the cause of the symptom. If the smell is constantly haunting, the struggle brings temporary freshness, you need to see a doctor.

Prevention

Preventing halitosis is easy. Go to the dentist regularly, carefully monitor the oral cavity, follow the recommendations of the doctor. In addition to brushing your teeth, you need to clean your tongue, as a mass of bacteria settles on the organ. The tongue is cleaned with a regular brush or a special rubber one.

It is important to monitor nutrition, exclude harmful foods, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Doctors recommend adjusting your diet and lifestyle. So that a bad aroma does not pursue a person, you will need to give up bad habits.

The main thing is to monitor your health, treat diseases of the digestive system in time and undergo preventive examinations.

Alternative medicine and the uncontrolled use of herbs to relieve symptoms can be ineffective and dangerous to health.

If all the measures taken do not work, nothing helps, and the stench appears immediately after brushing your teeth, an unpleasant smell becomes a common occurrence - you need to visit a doctor. The dentist will look at the oral cavity and find out whether an unpleasant symptom has appeared from the teeth or not, and will tell you what to do to avoid trouble. If the pathology is not of a dental nature, you will have to contact a gastroenterologist. The doctor will diagnose, diagnose and prescribe treatment.