Probably one of the most frequent problems when it comes to the oral health is the problem of bad breath. When a person has this problem, it gets noticed by everyone else first which makes it even more troublesome. Many who notice they have the problem will seek the advice of a medical professional. And often when they come to the doctor or medical professional they are already suffering from the social backlashes that result from offensive breath.

What causes offensive breath in most cases are the anaerobic bacteria that break down protein-rich food particles in the mouth. This is a natural process and gases such as skatol and hydrogen sulfide get released which causes the foul odor. The thin coating of film on the tongue harbors the anaerobic bacteria and they thrive in this environment. Not only is the bacteria found on the tongue but also in dental caries, gaps between teeth and gums, and the crypts of the tonsils. Other conditions like poor oral hygiene, tonsillitis, smoking, liver disease, and gastric problems will also cause bad breath.

A German physician, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, introduced a medical discipline known as homoeopathy which focuses on dealing with a person’s health problems as they relate to the whole body and not just the individual parts affected by a disease or illness. This medical discipline believes that a healthy body is one that exists in a realm of well-balanced vital forces. Vital forces are thought to be a hidden force that each person has. When this hidden force is working at its optimum, it keeps body, mind, and spirit in balance and the person is said to be and feel healthy. A healthy body of course functions properly and does not experience pain but rather normal healthy sensations. Symptoms of an illness appear when the vital force is thrown off balance and is affected for some reason. Foreign organisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other viruses find a new home in the body when this vital force gets thrown out of balance. In homeopathy, it is thought that the disease that is affecting the body occurs before the onset of the viruses and bacteria. So to put it simply, homeopathy believes that treating the bacteria and viruses is only like treating a symptom and not the root cause of the disease. That root cause must be treated first.

In homeopathy, we are introduced to the term Miasms. These are agents that morbidly affect a healthy vital force. The three main miasms are Sycosis, Syphilis, and Psora. The three main miasms may be known under different names in other medical disciplines but their affects are still just as damaging. These three cause the following and can occur in any combination at the same time:

In the treatment of foul odors in the breath, homoeopathic medicine treatments can be easily-administered as long as it is in the proper dose. In fact, there are over 100 homoeopathic medicines available for the treatment of bad breath. So there are plenty of choices in medicines for this problem and it only takes the right one to be effective. It is important for the patient to describe his or her “total” symptoms. These total symptoms go by terms like physical generals, mental generals, particular symptoms, and others. For example, we would express foul breath odor as a general symptom because it does impact the whole individual even though the symptom manifests from a small area (the mouth).

The physical generals include symptoms described in terms of thirst and appetite. Symptoms in the bowels can also be included in physical generals. The key is to get a comprehensive compilation of details on the patient to include:

Physical symptoms are those occurring in the areas of sleep, taste sensations, smells, pain, burning sensations, body composition, cravings, appetite, and thirst.

Mental symptoms are of course those commonly known as envy, anger, phobias, depression, and anxiety.

And the symptoms continue with those that appear uncommonly as well as those that are common. The homoeopathic system looks to find the correct remedy for the illnesses and diseases evidenced by these symptoms.

Let’s begin with symptoms that appear because of problems within internal organs and other parts of the body. These are the internal symptoms such as ulcers in the mouth, coatings on parts in the mouth such as the teeth, gums, tonsils, tongue, and mucus membranes in the oral cavity.

Once the symptoms are identified, the examinations must begin so as to isolate the cause and determine the correct remedy. For example, foul odors in the breath can be the result of many different internal disorders like digestive, cardiovascular, and nervous. So, in order to determine what is causing the bad breath, a head to toe examination should be performed because the root cause can be coming from many places in the body.

Another type of medical examination is known as a provisional disease diagnosis. Getting a diagnosis is not closely-linked to a remedy selection in homoeopathy however it is important from the aspect that we must know how the patient will advance if treatment is successful. In other words, we need to get a diagnosis so as to know what should be the expected results in the patient’s recovery—a prognosis. The examination of course includes lab analysis so as to try and determine if there are any major diseases involved.

So with the lab analysis, the physical examination, and an assessment of the symptoms, the physician can proceed to reach a final diagnosis of the disease.

In diagnosing a remedy for homoeopathy, the patient’s symptoms must be collected, listed, and prioritized by importance. In other words, the most important symptoms with the greatest impact must be evaluated for a remedy first. However during this process, the symptoms should be evaluated for similarities too. This is because a remedy can be selected to treat groupings of similar symptoms. The basis for this strategy of finding similarities is at the heart of homoeopathy principles. Homeopathy goes by the main principle of “like cures like.” To determine the remedy, the homeopathic drug is given to a healthy human and any symptoms displayed are recorded.

The process whereby suitable remedies are evaluated during a diagnosis is called repertorisation. Thus, the term repertory is used to refer to the books used to record the symptoms of each of the homeopathic drugs. Today, the “books” are now databases accessed by computer software where we now get the advantage of quick search and cross-reference capabilities. The patient’s history and these repertories are used together to select the appropriate remedy for the patient.

The underlying cause of most diseases is what is referred to as a miasm. Anti-miasmatic remedies work best when there are similarities in the symptoms. Remedies or drugs used are of the classifications: 1) anti-psoric, 2) anti-syphilitic, and 3) anti-sycotic.

Medicines in homoeopathy are derived from plants, animals, minerals, toxins, and diseased parts of the body. The process of producing medications from these sources is known as potentisation. The substances that come from the sources are processed by diluting the soluble parts with spirits. Insoluble substances are put through another process of grinding them with milk and sugar. The substance that results from either of the two processes is then mixed with the correct quantity of water and spirits and set aside. After a few days, the mixture is extracted and it becomes what we call the mother tincture (abbreviated by Q). Then, the mother tincture dilutions are derived by potentisation. The term potentisation refers a process by which the mixture is diluted so that its medicinal power increases. This is a mathematical process and each substance has different formulas to use in processing.

What follows are some homeopathic treatments that are used for getting rid of bad breath:

Arnica Montana. This is one of the medicines used to treat foul breath. Conditions that can cause bad breath are, for example, dry mouth, bleeding gums, bleeding caused by a tooth extraction or impact injury to the mouth, and gastric disturbances in the stomach resulting in gas exiting the mouth.

Antim Crude. This is another medicine for bad breath and does best when in conditions of gastric disturbance in the stomach or tongue coating. Tongue coatings can be so serious that they are covered with a white, fur-like coating. The patient could have cracked lips and dried nostrils. Belching results in very bad smells. This is also a good medicine for treating foul odors in a child’s breath.

Ars Alb. This is a good medicine when discharges from the body have a decaying smell. Symptoms are traces of blood in the saliva and the patient at times desires to drink warm water. For persons suffering from emaciation or debilitation, the medicine seems to be most effective. This medicine also does well in treating bad breath due to gastric disturbances in the stomach and regurgitation of small amounts of food and drink. Some patients even have digestive problems with certain fruits and vegetables causing a foul breath and this medicine works well too.

Asafoetida. When foul odors in the breath occur along with belching and a feeling of a knot rising in the throat, Asafoetida can be very effective. If the discharge of offensive gases as part of the belching can be treated then it can rid the person of the problematic bad breath.

Aurum Met. This is used to treat young women in puberty who suffer from bad breath. This occurrence of bad breath is often caused by ulcers in the gums—along with a bitter taste produced by these ulcers. This is also used to treat those who have bone tissue damage and it has also been used to treat those with psychological disorders such as suicidal thought patterns and depression. Along with the psychological disorders, you will find these same patients having misplaced guilt and feeling that they are criminals.

Baptisia. When this treatment is used, the patient will typically have gums that are sore and full of ulcers. The tongue will be covered with a coating that is yellowish brown in color and has edges that appear moist. When you look at the surface of the tongue, it appears cracked to. Along with this comes difficulty in swallowing and painlessly swollen tonsils. The patient may even have pharyngitis. All of these conditions result in bad breath. This medicine works well when the patient has a confused mental condition quite often.

Borax. When ulcers occur inside your cheek, they can cause bad breath. Borax is useful for treating this condition. These ulcers may also bleed easily. Another symptom is that the mouth is very tender and feels rather hot. This is a very effective remedy for children with offensive breath.

Bryonia. Patients treated with this remedy are high-strung individuals. They complain of having a bitter taste in the mouth and are extremely thirsty for cold water and will consume a lot of it when the opportunity arises. These patients also suffer from bowel movements with dry hard stools or constipation. Plus, they have a heavy feeling in their abdomen.

Calcarea Fluor. Patients suffer from mucus that forms on the crypts of the tonsil which also causes bad breath. Other symptoms include getting caries that come with tissue discoloration, enlarged tonsils that become infected quite often, and teeth that get loose from the gum quite easily and often without pain.

Carbo Veg. This remedy is for patients suffering from weakness. Typically the patient will have discharge in the mouth with the odor of decaying tissue. The patient’s gums are problematic in that they bleed often and are showing retraction. The patient belches often and there is a foul odor associated with that. Plus the patient has a general intolerance for meats and fatty foods. This intolerance also includes diarrhea and hot spells.

Chelidonium. This remedy is also good for treating bad breath. The patient might have a yellow tongue with teeth imprints on it. The patient complains of having a bitter taste in his or her mouth. Liver problems can be evident. There will be thirst for hot liquids and eating will make the patient feel better. Patients also have problems with constipation and hard stools and often the constipation will turn into diarrhea and then back to constipation.

Graphites. This remedy is effective in treating patients who are obese and have problems with their skin discharging a sticky substance. The patients tend to have blisters in their mouth and odors in their breath along with an overproduction of saliva. Belching leaves a sour taste in the mouth and there are other gastric disturbances.

Kali Bich. This remedy is good for when there is foul breath resulting from a gastric ulcer. The patient will complain of vomiting, gastric disturbances, and a bitter taste in the mouth. The patient’s tongue is smooth and the patient will suffer from rheumatism at times.

Kreosotum. Patients needing this remedy usually have dark teeth that are week and decomposing. They also complain of a bitter taste in their mouth along with the bad breath. Their gums are affected too and tend to bleed. Patients are known to have gastric disturbances too.

Lachesis. This remedy works well for patients who are restless and have emotional disturbances such as dark moods or jealousy. Symptoms and complaints include a tongue with black coloring and hot spells. The patient also has problem sleeping and is very uncomfortable with tight clothing.

Lycopodium. The patients needing this remedy are very week but have emotional problems such as lacking in self confidence too. The patients also suffer from sour belching that also burns in the throat. Tooth problems are manifest as well and their teeth can be sensitive to the touch. Blisters are on the tongue and the patient desires warm drinks and food plus has a craving for sweets. Constipation plagues these patients too.

Merc Sol. This remedy is good for treatment of patients who have blood in their saliva. The patients also complain of gums that bleed often and seem spongy. The also suffer from more dental problems to include decay of their tooth crowns. Their breath can be so offensive that it will fill large areas. The patient also complains of bleeding in the mouth along with ulcers. All these symptoms get worse at night.

Nux Vomica. This remedy is effective for those whose lifestyle is basically sedentary. While these people may be sedentary, they are still active in their careers and have high-strung personalities. By sedentary, we mean that their careers require a lot of sitting such as at a desk. These patients like to eat all different kinds of food so they are plagued with bad breath in the morning and following each meal. They also seem to have nausea in the morning plus a sour tasting mouth. They seem to have the urge for a bowel movement quite often and have a heavy feeling in their abdomen after eating.

Plantago. The patient served best by this remedy is the one who has severe toothaches and dental caries. The best way this is administered is having the patient gargle Plantago Q.

Pulsatilla. The patients served well by this remedy are those who have a timid and melancholy nature about them. They will suffer from bad breath mostly in the morning. Even though their mouth is dry most of the time the still are hesitant to drink the necessary water. They also complain of the lingering taste of their food in their mouth for quite some time so they are always trying to wash it out. Another symptom is a yellow tongue covered with mucus that clings to it stubbornly.

Psorinum. The patients this remedy acts well on are those who have a problem of coughing out particles from their mouth (could be lingering food particles) that smell really foul. Their tonsils are swollen and have a saliva coating that is thick and contributes to the bad breath. Body secretions have a foul odor plus the throat is full of mucus. Belching has a taste of rotten eggs and it is very painful to swallow. Even the ears are painful. These patients tend to have hunger in the middle of the night so much so that they get up to eat.

Pyrogen. Patients with bad breath will have a tongue that is red but dry and smooth with a glossy coating. They will also complain of vomiting and fever. Their bodies are sensitive to touch because of bruising.

Sulphur. This remedy works best for those who suffer from skin diseases that cause offensive odors. They will have lips that burn and are dry and the tongue will have a whitish color with a reddish tip. The patient will complain of having a bitter taste in the mouth during the morning.

The following are what are known as homoeo mother tinctures (represented by a Q) that can be used as a remedy in treating bad breath. Note that these can cause a burning sensation if taken directly so they will need to be diluted in one-half glass of water and gargled or imbibed.

Cinnamon Q. Take this only after diluting it in water and only gargle with it. This is good for when the gums are bleeding.

Eucalyptus Q. This is also used as a mouthwash and must be diluted with water. The mixture can be imbibed where it is useful for getting excess mucus out of the respiratory tract. This tincture can also be used in the treatment of coryza and colds.

Zingiber Q. This is a tincture that is used when there are gastric disturbances. Gargling with it can improve digestion.

Rhus Glabra Q. When you have ulcers in the mouth, this can be a very useful tincture. This can also be good for reducing extremely strong odors in the stool and flatulence.

Oleum Caryophyllum Q. This is a good tincture for gargling to reduce the pain of a toothache. Its fragrance is also effective in treating bad breath.

Balsamum peru Q. This is good for getting mucus out of the patient’s respiratory tract. When a patient has bronchitis or other lung congestion, it can cause bad breath. This remedy helps to remove that congestion. It is also good for gargling to remove ulcers that form in the mouth that can cause bad breath.

Menthol Q. You will find that many medications in the form of syrups or tonics will have this ingredient and it is also an effective gargling agent to reduce bad breath.