Halitosis: 7 Proven Causes & Home Treatment for Bad Breath (Mouth Odor)

This article focuses on causes, home treatment for bad breath, and mouth odors (halitosis) by providing a simple way to get rid of them.

What is Mouth Odor, Bad Breath (Halitosis)?

Doctor Kenneth Kee says that Halitosis is a medical disorder where a patient produces an unpleasant odor in their breath. It’s often noticed by people around such a person, they will feel uncomfortable because the air proceeding from the patient mouth is unpleasant.

The harmful effect of bad breath

Bad breath or mouth odor affects more than just your mouth and diminishes your self-esteem including your image as a person. Research shows when meeting a person:

• Body odor downgrades your personality by about 59 %.
• Bad breath downgrades you by about 37%.
• Disheveled appearance about 4%.
• Dirty ears about 1%.

 

Major Causes Of Bad Breathe

Some people may ask, Can a disease make my mouth smell bad? Yes! Here are known medical conditions that could lead to bad breath or mouth odor listed below.

According to medical experts, gingivitis Is an inflammation of the gums around the teeth.

Periodontitis

This is a medical condition where there is inflammation caused by an infection on the bone below the gums. Periodontitis can occur as a result of long-time negligence of oral hygiene. This negligence can result in an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the teeth.

Bacteria activities

Bacteria activities occur due to a lack of proper oral hygiene. Not all “Bad Breaths” can come as a result of having an underlying disease. For instance, when there is inadequate dental hygiene, the mouth will likely produce bad breath when speaking. In this regard mouth odor or bad breath can be linked to a lack of proper oral hygiene: when you don’t brush your tongue and teeth to remove all the small food chunks caught in between your teeth when grinding your food.

Foods Like Garlic And Coffee

Intake of Foods like Garlic Onions and coffee. When we take in certain food garnished with spices like Garlic Onions our mouth will likely produce an unpleasant smell when we speak.

Similarly, drinks like coffee can notoriously create bad breath. Although, some of these foods like garlic are medicinal and as well taste good in food, unfortunately, their taste and odor can last once it’s absorbed into the bloodstream.

Dehydration

Most people neglect their body system even when it’s crying and yelling for it to be hydrated. Yes, Dehydration can result in a bad breath because lack of water in the body can reduce saliva production.

Smoking

Bad breath or mouth odor can come as a result of smoking. Not only your breath but your entire body because your bloodstream has absorbed the smell and taste of whatever you are smoking, be it weeds, cigarettes, or others.

Morning breathe

Naturally, our mouths do smell early in the morning once we wake up from sleep. This does not mean we are sick or that it is permanent, but because our mouths could not produce enough saliva while we are sleeping, hence all the tiny particles of food caught between our teeth can easily be overrun by bacteria. It is wise to always floss our teeth before we sleep for the night.

Mouth Infection

Infection in the mouth can come as a result of a neglected wound in the mouth that got infected. These wounds can also come from oral surgery, where you have your teeth pulled out. As a result of this, you will experience bad breath when your wound is infected by bacteria and it can lead to halitosis.

Respiratory Tract Infections

Ailments like respiratory tract infections, and chronic bronchitis. Research shows that some medical ailments “tonsil stones, respiratory tract infections, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, gastrointestinal disturbance, or liver or kidney” can lead to bad breath or mouth odor. But in a situation when the possibility of any of these conditions mentioned above is ruled out by a dentist, it is wise to consult a medical professional for diagnosis.

5 Effective Self-Care Activities for healthy lifestyle

Home Treatment for bad breath

Bad breath or mouths odor is not entirely a result of a medical condition, it can come due to negligence of oral hygiene, therefore the first step to stopping mouth odor or bad breath is:

Regular Oral Hygiene To Kill Bacteria In Your Mouth.

The thing to do are:

1. Brush your teeth regularly. This is still the most effective way to kill harmful bacteria in our mouths.
2. Floss your mouth. Perform a general clean-up on every nook and cranny of your mouth to rid those “plaque-causing bacteria” that hide in between your teeth under your gum. Failure to do so will always result in inflammation of the gum and tooth decay will be the aftermath.

In summary, Brush your tooth every morning and floss your mouth before you go to bed. Both can drastically help in reducing bad breath.
Remember, brushing your teeth is not the only task but thoroughly cleaning up your tongue because it is the major source of odor when it is dirty.

Cut Down Sugar Intake

Using your teeth to bite/chew sugary food which will leave some of its particles in between your teeth will only feed the bacteria in your mouth to grow. This will increase their activities, and that is not a good sign.

Keep your body hydrated

Having enough fluid in your body will not only help in the production of saliva which fights mouth bacteria but will equally strengthen the function of your body system, and lubricate your joints.

Consume more fresh fruits and vegetables

Fruit like apples, Watermelons, and Cucumbers has a great way to freshen your breath and keep your mouth and body hydrated.

At regular intervals take sugar-free gum.

Chewing gum can help freshen your breath and equally keep your mouth hydrated, helping in saliva production. And when I say gum, I don’t mean sugary gum but sugar-free gum.

Change your choice of toothpaste

There are many kinds of toothpaste out there that can drastically reduce mouth odor. Although you still need to thoroughly clean your tongue and teeth to make it more effective.

Adopt the Mouth wash option

In addition to regular brushing of your teeth. Using mouthwash is another great way for oral care.
Research shows that about 99% of the bacteria that cause bad breath, plaque, and gingivitis can be killed with the help of mouthwash. But more research is needed in this regard.

Learn and implement adequate flossing.

Flossing can greatly improve your oral hygiene, it’s an effective way to rid remains of food particles, caught in between your teeth after eating. It can equally help to reduce bad breath and help remove germs a causative agent of bad breath.

Medical Treatment For Bad Breath

Go for the cure

Medical conditions like halitosis, Gum Disease (Gingivitis) should first be treated by consulting a dentist or medical professionals in the case of respiratory tract infections, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, gastrointestinal disturbance, and others mentioned earlier for possible diagnosis and treatment.

In conclusion

To Treat Bad Breath, Mouth Odors (Halitosis) take part in regular oral hygiene » adequate flossing » mouth wash option » Intake of sugar-free gum, and never allow the bad breath to affect your social life. Take action today by adopting regular oral hygiene. Because except for some medical conditions, 70 % of bad breath or mouth odor is a result of neglecting oral hygiene.