Bad Breath Definition
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OVERVIEW
Bad breath is the layman's term for HALITOSIS. Bad breath is caused by a
buildup of anaerobic bacteria that produce Volatile Sulphur Compounds (VSC).
Most bad breath problems are from the mouth, tongue
throat and nasal passages. It is a misconception to believe that bad breath
comes from the stomach or any other part of the digestive system. Everyone
knows what a burp smells like and realizes that this is a totally different
smell to bad breath. Also bad breath is unlikely to come from the stomach as
you have a sphincter muscle that closes off the esophagus to stop food
accidentally coming back up.
The most
common sites for bad breath to originate is the very back of the tongue,
throat, and the nasal passages. These areas are low in oxygen and therefore
have high numbers of anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath or halitosis.
Also the nasal areas can contain excess mucous which is an excellent food
source for the anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath. Virtually every
patient that passes through our clinics with chronic bad breath, has excess
mucous in the back of the throat on clinical examination. This can be
detected from something as subtle as having to constantly clear your throat,
or having to continually swallow, feeling you have a lump in your throat, or
just having smells in the back of the nose. Usually the patient does not
know about this extra mucous problem until it is elicited under our
questioning.
So it stands to reason, that to
cure bad breath, we need to simply keep the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria
in the right balance. A simple statement, but not easy to achieve.
Unfortunately bad breath is the result of our oral and nasal areas being out
of balance. This can happen due to our lifestyle factors, such as drinking
coffee and soft drinks. Or it can occur because of medicines we take. Again
if we are an allergic person, or someone that easily stresses, these are
also factors that will heighten a halitosis problem.
I will try to deal with all of
these issues separately in these pages. But generally to cure or rid
yourself of bad breath you need to modify the lifestyle factor that is
triggering your problem. You also need to use specialized products designed
to balance the bacteria that live within your system.
When choosing which products to
use, it is important to
select a range of products specifically designed to fight bad breath.
All these products will have oxygenating qualities as well as a bacteria
balancing effect. We suggest
that you begin by purchasing a reputable kit, as fighting bad breath involves a thorough overall approach. Using
just toothpaste or just mouthwash will not work.
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