Fresh Breath Basics

This is quite a long post but I've been travelling a lot by bus lately and I've encountered a lot of bad breath. So....

Essentially, there are two types of halitosis or bad breath: 

• Short term halitosis is caused by food and drink – not just garlic or curry, which have lingering aromas, but also things like coffee and cheese, which leave behind a rotten smell that doesn’t resemble that of the original substance.

Low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins are notorious for causing foul breath. Normally, the body burns carbohydrates as a source of energy but if these aren’t available, it burns fats instead. This might be an effective way to lose weight but the fat-burning process produces chemicals called ketones that are released in the breath. You can try to mask the smell (see below) but the only cure is to introduce some carbs into your diet.

• Chronic halitosis is caused by one or more of the following:

1.   Poor oral hygiene – leading to food stagnation, plaque   accumulation, tooth decay and infection.

2.   Habits or behaviour such as smoking or dieting.

3.   Post-nasal drip (catarrh)

4.   General medical conditions

Numbers 1 and 2 (where the odour is coming from within your mouth, rather than through it from somewhere else) are much more common than 3 and 4. So if you have chronic bad breath, the odds are that you are either not keeping your mouth clean enough or you are doing something to harm yourself.

There are three possible sites from where bad breath can come:

·         Your gums

·         Your teeth

·         Your tongue

Gums

People talk about gum disease as if it were something you might catch if you’re unlucky – like flu or Ebola virus. Sorry, but that’s not how it is. You might as well blame a bad hair day on ‘computer problems’. If you have gum trouble it’s because of something you have or haven’t been doing – which is good because it means you can change the situation. 

Healthy gums are firm, pink and stippled, like orange peel. So if any areas of yours are squishy, red or shiny, you have a problem. Bleeding is another danger sign. 

Briefly, here’s how it works:

Bacteria that live in your mouth digest any food debris you leave lying around and use it to make plaque, a sticky gel that keeps the bacteria and their harmful products in contact with the teeth and gums. Over time, the bugs use minerals from your saliva to build themselves a strong defensive ‘bunker’ – a hard shell known as calculus or tartar. Then they can really get to work destroying the attachment between your teeth and gums in a nice sheltered environment where your brush can’t get at them. 

And infected gums discharge a variety of smelly fluids.

Tartar begins to form within 24 hours – and then you’ll need a hygienist to shift it for you and to show you how to stop it building back up again. That’s why we stress the importance of thorough cleaning EVERY day.

Teeth

One of the harmful substances that oral bacteria produce is acid (they find sugars a particularly handy ingredient for this). So while the bugs are destroying your gums, the acids work on your teeth, dissolving enamel and creating holes. As the tooth rots, food debris stagnates in the cavities where it also decomposes – and smells.

Tongue

If you were to magnify the surface of your tongue, you would see that it’s a lot like a shag pile carpet (only available in a smaller range of colours). Bacteria and food debris collect between the filaments, decompose there and contribute to a bad odour. 

You will now appreciate why mints, gum and mouthwashes can only have a very temporary effect on breath freshness and at worst can mask a problem while it deteriorates. 

The tongue is no exception. You need to brush – or gently scrape – your tongue. Special brushes and scrapers are available for this and most toothbrushes have a ridged area on the back of the head designed for this purpose (yes that’s what they’re for). It can take a bit of getting used to and you shouldn’t try to go too far back (because, apart from anything else, vomit is highly acidic and bad for your teeth) but persistence will pay off.

Smoking has a negative effect on teeth, gums and tongue. It causes bad breath both directly through its natural smell and by destroying the enzymes that protect the oral tissues from infection. And of course it multiplies the likelihood of developing mouth cancer.

So, if you suffer from bad breath, go see your dentist and hygienist. They will fix the problem for you and work with you to keep everything healthy and sweet-smelling.

Best of all, you could pop along to The Dentist in Town

Tom