There are a number of reasons one could have halitosis. It could be due to how you sleep, what you eat, what’s going on with your body, and even what is in the air. But many of these reasons aren’t as normal as they are.
So what are some of the most common reasons that people will get bad breath? What are the top 5 things that cause bad breath? Look no further than here, where we’ll look at oral hygiene, dry mouth, diet, post nasal drip, and poor health!
1. Poor Oral Hygiene
The main reason many people have bad breath is because they don’t take care of their oral cavity properly. Brushing your teeth, and flossing regularly should be a #1 priority if you have bad breath, because most often, with more brushing and flossing, you can cure your halitosis.
What causes bad breath, if you have poor oral hygiene?
Tooth decay/disease. Without properly flossing, you can get things stuck in your teeth, which could cause bad breath. Also, cavities are another source of halitosis. As the food gets stuck between the teeth, it starts to erode away the enamel around those teeth, causing tooth decay, which will eventually lead to bad breath.
Tongue debris/disease. Without properly keeping you mouth clean, there is a higher chance for you to get a yeast infection, such as Oral Thrush, or white tongue. While these may come about because of other reasons, like breathing through your mouth, or having a poor immune system, good hygiene will keep these at bay.
Making sure to brush and floss every day is important to conquer halitosis. Make sure to brush your teeth, back of the mouth, roof of the mouth, and the tongue, to get your entire oral cavity as clean as possible.
Also, flossing between every tooth, on the sides, the fronts, and the backs, will help remove any plaque/decaying food that has been building up between your teeth.
2. Dry Mouth
Dry mouth, also known as Xerostomia, is a condition where your mouth because dry due to the flow of saliva being restricted somehow. Your saliva is your body’s natural way of helping flush out any bad bacteria from your mouth, and keeping that same bacteria from breeding, and growing.
Dry mouth can come through many means. It can come because of dehydration, poor diet, aging, smoking, alcohol consumption, and even because of nerve damage.
Making sure to drink plenty of water is the best cure for dry mouth. Take a look at this article, where we explain other ways to help cure and fight of dry mouth.
3. Post Nasal Drip
Post nasal drip is a concern that won’t only cause bad breath, but can also cause other mild discomforts. Post nasal drip is a term that is used when you sinuses start to produce a lot of thick mucus. As it is being produced, it continually is being dripped down the back of your throat, sometimes feeling there is something constantly there, and causing coughing/clearing of the throat.
Your body naturally drips mucus down the back of the throat, which mingles with the saliva and is swallowed. It’s only noticed when it becomes more thick, and gets stuck within the back of the throat.
Post nasal drip can come about through several reasons. Most of the case is through allergies. Many will get their nasal passages with allergens and other pollens during certain times of the year, which will cause more mucus to be made. Also, eating certain foods can cause it as well.
Oftentimes, this mucus will get lodged inside the crypts of your tonsil, causing tonsil stones. When this happens, you will get really bad smelling halitosis. The tonsil stones are made up of sulfuric compounds, giving a pretty powerful smell.
The best way to treat tonsil stones is by treating your post nasal drip. Curing your post nasal drip should stop tonsil stones from forming, which will give relief to your bad breath.
4. Diet
What you eat can be the make or break of your halitosis. Eating some garlic can cause you to have some terrible ‘garlic’ breath. On the flip side, having an apple or two can help minimize most any odors in your mouth, and stop your halitosis.
Also, as we’ve mention before, certain foods can cause you to have reactions, like post nasal drip or dry mouth, in which those reactions can cause bad breath.
We’ve written several articles on the subject of what to eat, and what not to eat. Feel free to take a look at our article on foods to cut out of your diet. In that article, we list a few foods, and a few drinks, that have been known to cause halitosis.
Alternatively, you can check out this article about foods that can potentially cure halitosis. In that article, we list quite a few foods, and drinks, that will help relieve your bad breath, and help get rid of any foul odors in your mouth.
Love garlic, but struggling with that garlic breath that you want to get rid of when your out in public? We’ve got you covered. Take a look this article, where we list a few foods that you can eat with/after you take your garlic clove
5. Health Issues
Many things can cause halitosis, and nothing worse than health issues.
Acid reflux is a health issue that can cause bad breath. Acid within the stomach can sometimes come up into the back of the throat and cause halitosis. This happens when a ring of muscle below your esophagus, becomes relaxed and allows things to move upwards. More can be found within this article.
Dementia, Alzheimers, and even nerve damage can cause bad breath, though indirectly. As you body fights these different issues, certain other parts of your body might continue to fail, causing things that kept your halitosis at bay to no longer work as they used to.
Diabetes can bring about bad breath, or a more fruity type of smell to your breath. This happens because as a diabetic, you have harder time processing ketones. Instead of being process, ketones will get expelled through your lungs and breath, causing what you exhale to smell differently than normal.
Problems Have Answers
Though we did list 5 things that cause bad breath, that doesn’t mean that there are no cures. Within this list, we’ve linked out to quite a few articles that will help with those certain causes.
Bad breath is something that is not fun to deal with. But it can be conquered and you can be freed from it. Just continue to try new techniques, finding what triggers your bad breath, and you’ll be able to cure your halitosis in no time!