While everyone has experienced bad breath at some point in their lives, some people have chronic halitosis that brushing and mouthwash won't help.
Cavities and gum disease: Cavities in your teeth can provide a good hiding place for odor-causing bacteria. Because the bacteria are in hard-to-reach spots, removing them when brushing your teeth is challenging. These odor-causing bacteria can also hide in deep gum pockets due to gum disease.
Though good oral hygiene that includes brushing and flossing helps in preventing cavities, you may still get cavities. The reasons can be many, like the spaces between teeth that easily trap food, consuming too much cavity-causing foods and beverages, avoiding regular professional-level cleanings and checkups, etc.
Halitosis is an oral health problem where the main symptom is bad smelling breath. In most cases, finding the cause of the bad breath is the first step toward treating this preventable condition.
A: While there is no cure for chronic halitosis, following proper oral hygiene habits and using an effective treatment regimen can help to control the condition and keep bad breath at bay.
It is usually recommended to increase the intake of mineral-rich meats and vegetables, bone broth and healthy fats. Diet rich in gelatin and magnesium may also help heal rotten teeth. Fish oil, olive oil and seafood are high in fat-soluble vitamins, so it is good to include these in your diet during tooth healing.
Other factors not related to oral hygiene can also increase your risk of developing gum disease, including smoking, genetic factors, hormonal changes, systemic diseases like diabetes or bruxism (grinding your teeth).
Breath that smells sulfuric, resembling the smell of rotten eggs, may indicate a problem with the digestive tracts. When healthy gut microbes break down sulfur, this releases sulfur-smelling gas.
Give Your Breath The Sniff Test
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.
Gingivitis, The First Stage Of Gum Disease, Is Reversible
If you have gingivitis, the first stage of gum disease, your condition can be reversed and eliminated. This is because, by definition, gingivitis does not cause any permanent damage to your teeth and gums. It's the first and most common stage of gum disease.
Unlike the other stages of gum disease, gingivitis is curable as long as you treat it early enough. If you notice symptoms of gingivitis, you should schedule an appointment with a dentist and immediately begin practicing better oral hygiene at home. Untreated gingivitis can worsen and turn into periodontitis.
Using a toothpaste like parodontax Active Gum Repair, which contains an anti-gingivitis ingredient, stannous fluoride, helps reverse gingivitis by targeting plaque bacteria. Although brushing your teeth can get rid of plaque, the plaque that forms in between your teeth can be hard to reach with a toothbrush.
In general, adults develop an average of three cavities during their lifetimes. This means that the average adult has three or four fillings in their mouth. Some patients end up with ten or more fillings depending on how well they care for their teeth.
In reality, it is never too late to fix bad teeth, though in some cases, the fix is the extraction of a dead tooth. However, with the help of your skilled Billings, MT dentist, your teeth can be properly taken care of, and you can start enjoying your smile again.
Dentin decay is possible to treat with Fillings in the early stage, or the dentist may suggest placing crowns in more advanced cases. Before placing the crowns, the decayed area is removed first, and if necessary, some healthy tooth tissue may also be removed to ensure that the crowns fit nicely into your mouth.
Postnasal drip, respiratory and tonsil infections, sinus problems, diabetes, liver and kidney issues, as well as certain blood disorders can all cause bad breath. In some rarer cases, bad breath could be a sign of cancer or other serious conditions like metabolic disorders.
Living with halitosis
Bad breath may be a sign of a health problem. Sinus infections, chronic lung infections, liver or kidney diseases, and diabetes are some health conditions that may cause bad breath.
So it's no surprise that most cases of halitosis are associated with poor oral hygiene, gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis, and dry mouth, a condition in which the salivary glands cannot make enough saliva to keep your mouth moist.
If bad breath is due to GERD, drugs such as H2 blockers, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), or antacids may also be recommended.
Halitosis Treatment
While brushing your teeth is necessary, one of the best halitosis home remedies is to focus on cleaning your tongue, because it's where a large amount of the bacteria live. Clean it with a tongue scraper then rise with mouthwash, like LISTERINE®, to help kill germs that can lead to bad breath.