Have you been experiencing bad breath and think that it might be coming from the back of your mouth? Have you heard of tonsil stones causing bad breath but don’t know what tonsil stones are? Did you know that your tonsils can, in fact, cause bad breath?
If you’re wondering the answers to these questions, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’re going to gain an understanding and appreciation of our tonsils, learn about tonsil stones, and discuss some treatment options.
Without further ado, can your tonsils cause bad breath?
Everything YOU Need To Know About Tonsils
First of all, we have to have a basic understanding of what tonsils are and where they are positioned in your mouth.
Within your mouth is your tongue. And hanging directly above your tongue is your uvula. On either side of your mouth, right below the uvula, are your tonsils. Check out the graphic below for a visual.
According the WebMD,
The tonsils (palatine tonsils) are a pair of soft tissue masses located at the rear of the throat (pharynx). Each tonsil is composed of tissue similar to lymph nodes, covered by pink mucosa (like on the adjacent mouth lining). Running through the mucosa of each tonsil are pits, called crypts
SOURCE
Notice that thing about the tonsils being composed of tissue kinda like lymph nodes? Your tonsils are part of the lymph system. Your lymph system is what fights off infection, so, in essence, your tonsils are generally believed to help fight off any bacteria or viruses that show up in your nasal cavity.
Also notice the bit about the pits called crypts. That’ll be important in a little while.
Some ailments of the tonsils are:
- Tonsillitis. This is an inflammation of the tonsils, caused by bacteria or a virus.
- Peritonsillar abscess. This is what happens when tonsillitis is left untreated. Basically, pus accumulates around the tonsils. This is a serious issue.
- Strep throat. Another bacterial infection that infects the tonsils and throat.
- Tonsillar cancer. Cancer of the tonsils, most commonly found in those who smoke and drink.
- Tonsil stones. A condition when bacteria and other junk calcify into a hard stone on the tonsil. This can cause bad breath.
Ah, we find the answer to our problems!
Why would our tonsils cause bad breath?
Why indeed.
Remember what I said about those crypts in your tonsils being important? These crypts are important because they are where the tonsil stones form.
Bacteria love to hang out in these crypts, and they love to feast on things to grow larger and larger. Anything will pretty much do, like dead cells, food particles, and mucus. And besides that, maybe even more importantly, these bacteria are composed of sulfur compounds.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced the joys of sulfur water, which is what I immediately equate with when I hear ‘sulfur.’ There’s nothing like seeing a bunch of black water come out of the faucet when you’re getting ready for a bath.
Another thing people equate with sulfur are hard-boiled eggs. You know how you sometimes peel the shell back and there’s that grayish/greenish stuff? Well, that’s sulfur.
And one thing sulfur is notorious for is the bad smell.
So it makes sense that tonsil stones composed of sulfur would cause bad breath.
Now we know that your tonsils can cause bad breath through tonsil stones. But that still doesn’t solve the problem. How do we take care of the tonsil stones so we don’t have bad breath?
3 Easy Steps To Solve YOUR Tonsil Stones and Bad Breath
Yes, as a matter of fact, your tonsil stones and bad breath can be cured by three super simple steps.
1. Identify the tonsil stones
First, you have to make sure that you have tonsil stones. Open your mouth up, maybe grab a flashlight, and peer around into the dark depths. If you see some hard, white or yellow pebble-shaped objects on your tonsils, chances are, you’ve got tonsil stones. Some other symptoms include trouble swallowing, tonsil swelling, and ear pain.
2. Choose A Treatment/Remedy And Follow Through
Next, we have to decide what treatment or remedy options we should try. Here are just a couple that are mostly inexpensive and easy to do.
- Try using your tongue, a fingernail, the back of your toothbrush, a q-tip, or a cotton swab to poke the stone out of place.
- Make yourself a saltwater gargle by dissolving ½ salt into 8 ounces of warm water. Simply tilt your head back and blow air until the stone is washed away.
- Buy yourself some dental power tools if you like adventure. There are plenty of oral water irrigators online and in stores that you can use to blast those tonsil stones out of place, as well as give your tonsils a good cleaning!
- Sometimes, the simplest thing to do is try a couple of forceful (but not aggressive) coughs to push that stone out of place.
Always remember to be gentle with yourself. The last thing you want to do is go to the dentist because you damaged your mouth, throat, and/or tonsils further.
3. Practice Good Oral Hygiene
Lastly, once your tonsil stones removal plan has been placed into effect, the best thing to do is practice good oral hygiene.
What does this look like?
Well, first off, brushing your teeth daily (at least.) If you want to try twice a day, or even after every meal, be my guest. But since most of us don’t really want to do that, I have a simpler solution.
Drink a glass of water after every meal! This will help wash away food particles and bacteria kicking around. It’s easy to do, and if you don’t like water, then try infusing it with other flavors, such as cucumber, strawberry, or lemon.
Speaking of which, pull out your dental floss and put it to use. Doing this will help remove some of the plaque buildup between your teeth. This buildup is the same that causes tonsil stones.
Feel free to do regular salt water gargles as well – they help keep those tonsils free of bacteria.
Get Ready To Say Bye-Bye To Your Tonsil Stones and Bad Breath
We’re all ready for our tonsil stones and bad breath to be gone and disappeared, forgotten. Wanna know how?
Allen Thompson started his program Fast Tonsil Stones Cure to help people like you. His struggle with tonsil stones that lasted years inspired it. He was sick of treatment and treatment not working.
Until one day, Allen found a treatment that actually worked.
He’s excited to share it with you. Through it, you’ll learn everything you need to combat your tonsil stones and bad breath. You’ll learn about how tonsil stones form, how to get rid of them, and how to make sure they never come back.
If you’ve been struggling with tonsil stones, what are you waiting for? Check out Fast Tonsil Stones Cure today.