Has someone—a friend, classmate, coworker, or worse, your date—awkwardly mentioned that you have bad breath? Oh no!
While we can ‘cover’ our bad breath (also known as halitosis) with mint gum, it’s always best to find the root cause so you can deal with it appropriately.
Hence, to help you, we’re rounding up a couple of reasons why your breath smells bad in this article. Let’s get started!
Oral Diseases
While bad breath may be due to certain foods, it can also stem from more serious reasons such as oral diseases. One of which is oropharyngeal cancer.
According to Cleveland Clinic, some of its symptoms include pain in the mouth, swallowing difficulty, persisting sores, weight loss as well as a lump in the neck.
Your halitosis can also be due to cavities and gum diseases. The ADA explains that both provide bacteria more places to hide in your mouth that are hard for you reach when you clean your teeth.
Other Diseases
It’s also worth noting that other types of diseases can cause bad breath, not just oral ones.
Some of these are gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), liver and kidney disease, Sjögren’s syndrome (an autoimmune disease), metabolic disorders, a sinus infection, and sleep apnea, among others.
Do you suspect yourself of having any of the above-mentioned conditions? Better to book an appointment with a doctor then.
If you haven’t found one to examine you, try checking out our physician recommendations from these areas: Dublin, Galway, and Waterford.
Smoking
Aside from a wide array of illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and stroke, smoking can also cause bad breath.
When you smoke, the amount of compounds that give off a bad smell multiplies in a person’s mouth and lungs, according to Health. Yikes.
Health also cited a 2004 review that shows that the habit of smoking can also dry out the mouth. A dry mouth means a decrease in the production of saliva, which contributes to halitosis.
Dry Mouth
Speaking of mouth dryness, there is actually a medical term that refers to this condition: xerostomia. So how does a dry mouth contribute to bad breath?
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the mouth can’t clean itself of food particles if its saliva production is greatly reduced.
In addition, xerostomia may be caused by different factors such as medication, a salivary gland disorder, or even when a person always breathes through their mouth.
Certain Foods and Drinks
Sometimes our bad breath may just be due to a couple of certain foods we ate. One reason for this is that as the foods we eat move to our lungs (after being absorbed in the bloodstream), it affects the air we exhale, according to WebMD.
Some foods that are known to cause a foul odour in our mouths include cheese, spices, garlic, and onions as well as vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage.
As regards drinks, these include alcohol, soda, and coffee.
Having bad breath, while embarrassing, is pretty common for a lot of people. The key is to take care of our whole body, especially our oral health by brushing regularly and visiting our dentist.
And speaking of dentists, if haven’t found a good one yet, you can check out our top picks below:
- Best dentists in Ireland
- Best dentists in Limerick
- Best dentists in Galway
- Best kids dentists in Dublin
Other sources: