Tackling Your Dental Treatment Plan

Halitosis that occurs in the morning is considered quite normal since the oral cavity typically dries out as a person sleeps. Nevertheless, many people suffer from bad breath throughout the day.

Still, a person may have trouble determining when their breath is malodorous. To assess the freshness of your breath, you can simply request the help of a close friend or family member. They can easily smell your breath by inhaling as you blow a puff of air from your mouth.

To smell your own breath, you can lick the skin of your wrist or hand and smell the area you licked. The resulting odor can give you a more accurate idea of how your breath smells than simply coughing and sniffing the air.

Here is a bit of additional information about bad breath and its causes.

Why Does a Person Develop Bad Breath?

Halitosis can originate from different sources. Here are a few of them:

• Dental decay: Dental decay occurs when acids inside the mouth dissolve the tooth material. A resulting hole may trap bits of food that can start to rot in the mouth, releasing a foul smell.
• Oral infections: When a bacterial infection develops in the mouth, the infected tissues may become malodorous.
• Tobacco use: Smoking or chewing tobacco can dry out the oral tissues and incite bacterial growth in the mouth.  
• Stomach issues: Digestive problems, such as GERD, can negatively affect the smell of the breath.
• Unremoved plaque: The oral bacteria and food particles that comprise plaque may smell bad.  
• Sinus infections: As infected material builds up in the sinuses, the smell released may be emitted with the breath.

Although bad breath can be related to numerous conditions, cases of halitosis frequently begin in the mouth.

How Can Bad Breath Be Resolved?

If the halitosis is simply linked to unremoved plaque, it may be resolved by regularly brushing and flossing the teeth thoroughly. An overgrowth of malodorous oral bacteria, however, may be treated with an antimicrobial mouth rinse.

Systemic conditions, such as digestive disorders, may require medical treatment before the halitosis dissipates. However, if the person's breath is smelly due to a certain food or herb that they have consumed, such as onions or garlic, the smell of the breath may improve as the substance makes its way through the digestive tract.

To learn more ways to alleviate bad breath, schedule a consultation with a general dentist in your area.