Diagnosing and Treating Bad Breath

Having a bad breath might be a result of poor oral hygiene. If the bad breath persists even after brushing and chewing mint gums, it could be a sign of an infection in your mouth. Therefore, you should consider seeking early treatments.

Symptoms of Bad Breath

Some are worried about bad breath while they don’t have any mouth odor. Other times you might notice if you have mouth odor until someone tells you or see a dentist. Therefore, you can ask a friend or a colleague if you have a mouth odor.

When Should I See a Dentist?

A persistent bad breath can be a result of a gum or tooth infection. Sometimes the odor can be accompanied by a toothache. If you have a persistent mouth odor that does not suppress even after brushing and flossing your teeth, you should consider visiting a dentist near you for diagnosis and treatments.

Causes of Bad Breath

Most of the time, bad breath starts in your mouth. Some of the cause of mouth odor include:

• When food particles on your teeth are broken down by bacteria, they can lead to a foul mouth odor. Also, when you consume some foods such as garlic and onions, they absorb into the blood-stream to your lungs, affecting your breath.
• Poor oral hygiene. If you don’t brush regularly, bacteria work on the debris, causing a foul mouth odor. The broken debris forms plaque that enters your gum, forming periodontal pockets. Bacterial in the periodontal pockets causes inflammation on the gums, leading to an infection that is accompanied by persistent mouth odor.
• Dry mouth. Saliva helps wash away food particles that cause mouth odor. Therefore, if you have a dry mouth condition such as Xerostomia, you might experience bad breath. You are likely to experience a dry mouth if you don’t drink water regularly or sleep with your mouth open.
• Using any tobacco products can put you at risk of bad breath. Also, smoking tobacco can cause gum disease hence a persistent mouth odor.
• Mouth sore and ulcers. If you have untreated wounds or sore in your mouth due to infections, you are likely to develop a persistent mouth odor.
• Some medications cause a dry mouth, thus contributing to a foul mouth odor.
• Nose and throat infections. If you have an infection on your throat or nose, you might experience bad breath. Therefore, you should consider seeing a doctor for treatment.

Diagnosis

To diagnose bad breath, the dentist will smell the odor from your mouth and nose to rate it on a scale. Your dentist can also scrape the back of your tongue to check if it is the cause of the foul odor.

If you have a persistent bad breath, the dentist will check your gums, your gums, cheeks, and palate for infections.

Bad Breath Treatment

If you have mild bad breath, your dentist can recommend some home remedies or professional dental cleaning for the odor. On the other hand, the dentist would recommend the following treatments for persistent bad breath:

Gum Disease Treatment

Since gum disease can be the cause of your bad breath, your dentist can recommend periodontal treatments. If the infection has spread to the jaw, a surgery would be necessary. Some of the periodontal treatments the dentist would consider include root planing, pocket reduction surgery, and scaling.

Toothpaste and Mouth Rinses

If you have bad breath due to plaque build-up on the gum line and teeth surfaces, your dentist can recommend antiseptic mouthwash. The dentist can also recommend a toothpaste that kills bacteria, reducing plaque build-up.

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

At Brookstone Dental care, we can recommend home remedies for mild bad breath. To reduce and prevent mouth odor, you can do the following:

• Brush your teeth regularly. When you brush your teeth, especially before bed, you eliminate food particles that bacteria work on to cause bad breath.
• Floss at least once daily. The aim of flossing is removing debris between your teeth to prevent the formation of plaque.
• Brush your tongue. By brushing your teeth, you eliminate food particles, preventing bacteria from acting on them. Therefore, you reduce the risk of bad breath.

Drink water regularly. When you drink water, it washes off particles that cause bad breath as well as prevent a dry mouth.