Getting older also makes us more likely to have dry mouths, which can contribute to bad breath. Decreased saliva production allows food particles, debris, and bacteria to linger around the teeth and gums and produce a noticeable odor.
Specifically, saliva production decreases while you're sleeping, leaving you with dry mouth at night. Since saliva usually flushes out odor-causing particles, you're left with bacterial buildup that makes its presence known with its distinctive aroma. If you sleep with your mouth open, the problem gets even worse.
Your dentist will tell you that everyone has some degree of morning breath. The reason, when you are asleep, your mouth begins to dry out. As it dries, odor-causing bacteria begin to form. Saliva also decreases when you sleep causing your breath to be at its worst upon rising.
People who mouth-breathe while they sleep are at higher risk of experiencing halitosis and may have a difficult time addressing the problem, despite proper brushing and flossing.
The flow of saliva almost stops during sleep. Many other things can cause bad breath, such as missing meals, being dehydrated, or eating foods with a strong odor, such as garlic. Other causes include throat or mouth infections (such as strep throat), dental problems (such as cavities), and gum disease.
Morning Breath/bad breath is inevitable
In fact, morning breath is a natural part of the day for most. The treatment for bad breath involves constant dental care, cleaning the teeth, using mouthwash and visiting a dentist on a regular basis.
The bad breath occurs because your saliva dries up during sleep. This allows bacteria to build up and produce foul smells. Remain calm! Remedies exist to reduce and eliminate the odor.
The research published in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene has shown that drinking or rinsing the mouth with a glass of water helped remove up to 60 per cent of the substances which contribute to bad breath1.
Brushing your teeth properly for two minutes and flossing before bed will help — and there is no reason why you can't both pop to the bathroom and brush your teeth in the morning, then dash back to bed. However, the simplest way to get rid of funky morning breath is to keep a glass of water next to your bed.
So, don't fret. Funky morning breath is normal. And it's different than halitosis, which is a chronic bad-breath condition that you cannot remedy with a good brushing and mouthwash.
Everyone gets bad breath from time to time — especially after eating garlic, onions or other strong foods. But bad breath that doesn't go away (chronic halitosis) could mean you have an oral health issue or a condition that's affecting another part of your body.
Need to check how your breath smells quickly? Try the sniff test—there are a couple of ways to do it. If you lick your wrist, let it dry for a moment, then take a whiff, you should be able to get an idea if your breath has an odor too. Another method is to floss toward the back of your mouth, then smell the floss.
Throughout the day, saliva helps wash away bacteria from the mouth that cause bad breath. However, when you sleep, saliva production decreases significantly and contributes to the foul smell.
Cavities and gum disease
The bacteria that cause bad breath can hide in cavities in your teeth. This makes it difficult to get rid of the bacteria when you're brushing your teeth because it's hidden in places that you can't reach. Similarly, these bacteria can hide in deep pockets caused by gum disease.
Dry mouth contributes to bad breath, so be sure to drink a sufficient amount of water (six to eight 8-ounce glasses) daily. Drinking water will help keep odor under control because it helps wash away food particles and bacteria, the primary cause of bad breath.
Mouth infections can cause bad breath. However, if your dentist has ruled out other causes and you brush and floss every day, your bad breath could be the result of another problem, such as a sinus condition, gastric reflux, diabetes, liver or kidney disease. In this case, see your healthcare provider.
If your partner isn't as diligent as he or she should be with brushing and flossing before bed and in the morning, the mouth can become a fertile growing field for bacteria. Additional causes of halitosis include: Smoking and chewing tobacco. Medications that dry out the mouth.
Myth #1: Mouthwash will make bad breath go away. Mouthwash only gets rid of bad breath temporarily. If you do use mouthwash, look for an antiseptic (kills the germs that cause bad breath) and plaque-reducing one with a seal from the American Dental Association (ADA).
Vitamin C is an excellent source of preventing the growth of bacteria in our mouth. Including oranges and other citrus fruit in your diet, along with berries and melons, etc, mean minimizing bad breath, Vitamin C also prevents many gum infections, which eventually leads to minimizing bad breath.
The genera Lactobacillus, Streptococcus and Weissella are among the most useful probiotics for the prevention or treatment of halitosis in the oral cavity.
The most common reason the air in your bedroom smells bad in the morning is a lack of fresh air ventilation overnight. Our bodies go through multiple processes overnight where we regulate our temperature and digest food from across the day. This causes our bodies to release odours from sweat and flatulence.