Nobody wants to have bad breath, but how do you know if you have it?  It’s been reported that one out of four people suffer with this condition with some studies even reporting that up to half of the adult population has it.  There are several reasons why you can have this problem.  Some major ones are health problems, consuming certain foods, and having certain habits.  Most of the time you can make it disappear by improving your dental hygiene.  But if you’ve spent a lot of time improving your dental hygiene with better brushing and flossing and notice no improvement, you should have your dentist or doctor determine if you have other serious health problems.

External Causes: There can be two origins of this problem-external and internal.  External origins can come from some of the foods you eat in your daily diet, especially if you love spicy or stinky foods (such as onions, cooking spices, garlic, and even tuna).  If you believe the odor in your mouth may be caused by this reason, make notes in a food log and record what you ate and when you notice an odor.  If you have tobacco and alcohol habits, these can also develop an odor in your mouth.

Internal Reasons: Internal reasons can start in your mouth and spread throughout the rest of your body. Your tongue naturally provides the perfect place for bacteria to accumulate and multiply.  These bacteria emit and odor by releasing volatile sulfur compound (VSC’s).  The main culprits that cause this odor are hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptain.  An examination of will show these bacteria like to live in the back area of your tongue.

Other Reasons:  There can be many reasons that cause an odor to form in your mouth including: Systemic diseases such as infections of the lung and abscesses, diabetes, GI conditions, and kidney/liver failure; Dry mouth from loss of saliva flow, especially when taking medications or going through radiation therapy for cancer; Infections of the throat and sinus; Poor denture cleaning leading to food and plaque buildup; and dental conditions such as improper brushing and flossing, gingivitis, and gum or periodontal disease.

If the problem doesn’t go away with good daily hygiene care, schedule an appointment with your dentist to find out why. He may stock products designed to get rid of the VSC’s in your mouth.  Don’t give up on your efforts to improve your home dental care, continue brushing with a flouridated toothpaste, flossing, and using other dental aids such as a gum stimulator and a tongue scraper.