It definitely hinders interpersonal contacts, evokes a sense of embarrassment, and it is often difficult to know its cause. We are talking about a bad smell from the mouth, which in fact rarely means a serious disease. Usually, the source of this problem lies within the person – the reasons may lie in improper hygiene, dental diseases, laryngological complications or in an improper diet.
When it comes to hygiene, some people simply have a naturally low pH in the mouth and are therefore more prone to bad breath. Therefore, they have to implement much stricter rules of hygiene in their lives. Among the most helpful ways are five must-have rules to follow if we want to stop the problem of unpleasant odor, or halitosis:
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day, preferably not less than three minutes. execute sweeping movementsor get an electric or sonic toothbrush.
- If you have removable dentures, clean them in the evening with a special denture brush (or regular toothbrush), preferably using unscented soap. Put it away overnight in a ventilated and dry place.
- Clean interdental spaces with dental floss.
- It is also worth brushing the tongue with a special rubber scraper, which many toothbrushes are equipped with (you can also clean the tongue with a regular toothbrush).
- If you suffer from periodontal disease, it is best to get an irrigator that cleans pockets and other places that are difficult to remove, e.g. with a thread.
The causes of bad breath
If that doesn’t help, the cause is deeper. Visits to the doctors will be necessary. The first should be the dentist because mouth strains of bacteria could multiply. This is usually due to insufficient hygiene. We tend to forget to brush our teeth long enough, and we often skip cleaning the tongue, which is a great place for germs to grow.
Therefore, the cause may be inflammation of the gums, cavities, unremoved roots, ulcers, as well as mycosis. Bad breath it can also be a consequence of diseases of the salivary glands, smoking, and in postmenopausal women, a decrease in estrogen.
If a visit to the dentist showed nothing, it’s good to visit an ENT specialist. Often, the cause of halitosis are diseases of the sinuses and throat, as well as the palatine tonsils. If we exclude dental and laryngological diseases, you need to visit an internist and, together with him, consider whether the cause is not simply a poor diet, stimulants and medications. Digestive problems, too much meat, onion and garlic in the menu, overeating, as well as an excess of toxic compounds in the body may be to blame.