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What causes bad
breath?
So many people are affected adversely by bad breath. It has a
tremendous impact on those who suffer from it in the way they
conduct day-to-day activities. But bad breath does not just affect
the person with it but also those who have to be around the
person. For the person with bad breath who cannot get it under
control, this could cause depression. It can cause problems in
marriage. And, it can cause social isolation.
All human beings have the potential for bad breath. Just think
about what the mouth contains. It has millions of anaerobic
bacterial like fusobacterium and actinomyces. These are necessary
bacteria because they perform action on food protein. Such actions
as putrefication are necessary to digest food however the
byproducts of the process are gases such as methyl mercaptan,
putrescine, skatol, and hydrogen sulfide. All these gases cause
the foul odor. When accepted practices of oral hygiene are not
followed, the result is bad breath. We typically do things like
brush our teeth and tongue, and gargle with mouthwash daily in
order to combat the occurrence of this offensive odor. However
there are instances when people suffer from bad breath even after
following all the proper hygienic procedures. This is where
further research as to the cause of the person’s bad breath must
be performed in order to get to the root of the problem. What
commonly causes bad breath? Let’s look at a few of them:
First of all, bad breath is caused when there is a lack of or
there is improper oral hygiene. Bacteria are necessary to break
down and digest food. But without good oral hygiene, the mouth
becomes home for all sorts of bacteria—all producing a byproduct
of offensive odor due to the digestion of food particles. After
eating, a person should brush their teeth. Otherwise bad breath
grows to be a very severe problem in the person. Also consider the
fact that people rarely brush after having a snack in between
meals and this leads to bad breath too.
Bad breath is also a problem when people wake up in the morning.
This is because saliva production decreases at night during sleep.
Because saliva has properties that fight bacteria it contributes
to cleaning the mouth but when the person is asleep, this ability
is reduced. Saliva also aerates the mouth because it also contains
oxygen. Therefore, when the person is sleeping and saliva is
reduced, anaerobic bacteria thrive.
Bad breath can also be caused by what you eat. When bacteria break
down protein, the byproduct is a foul smell. This is
characteristic of the bacteria/protein reaction. Thus, it stands
to reason, that food high in protein will cause the worst breath.
So, when you consume milk products, nuts, eggs, meat, and fish,
you are at greater risk of having bad breath.
Some foods like raw onion will produce a particularly bad smell
when broken down. The same holds true when eating ground nuts.
However there is a remedy. The person who follows the proper
dental hygiene after eating these foods will more than likely
avoid any bad breath. Of course if the person snacks in between
meals without cleaning the mouth then they will more than likely
have bad breath.
At times, a thin sticky substance will cover the tongue and the
oral mucosa of the mouth. The substance is referred to as biofilm.
This thin sticky substance, when it covers the back portion of the
tongue, traps millions of bacteria organisms which cause bad
breath. The biofilm also helps the bacteria grow because it cuts
off air from the outside making conditions just right.
When processes result in the decalcification of teeth and the
erosion of enamel and dentine then we call it dental caries. This
erosion of the enamel and the dentine also causes cavities in the
teeth. The damage is done by bacteria known as lactobacilli. When
these cavities occur, food gets caught during eating and bacteria
which need no oxygen will make the food rot and decay. This is
what produces the bad odor. And just brushing your teeth will not
remove these rotten food particles. You will find these caries to
be quite frequent among those who have poor dental hygiene and
children and there are also cases where they are caused by a
vitamin or calcium deficiency.
The teeth are attached to the jaw and at those boundaries between
the jaw and the teeth is a covering known as the gums. Did you
know that the gum is actually mucus membrane? Its function is to
protect this area and others in the mouth. When the gums become
inflamed, the condition is known as Gingivitis. Once inflamed, the
gums get swollen, infected, and painful. The condition known as
pyorrhea develops where the gums begin to have a constant
discharge of pus. As the infection goes deeper, an alveolar
abscess develops with more pus discharging. If the condition goes
untreated it will eventually get into the bone and cause
osteomyelitis. As you can imagine by the description of this
condition, the odor from the mouth can get quite bad.
When gums retract over time, a gap can be developed between the
tooth and gum that will lodge particles of food. The food decays
and causes bad breath. Also forming between the teeth and gum are
substances known as dental plaques and tarter. Once again, these
harbor food particles and bacteria producing offensive breath
odor.
When ulcers and lesions form in the mouth, they produce bad
breath. There are various causes to these lesions to include food
allergies, autoimmune disorders, bacteria, and viruses. A
frequently occurring ulcerative lesion is the apthous ulcer. Other
types of ulcerative lesions are from fungal infections, Vincent’s
angina (trench mouth), herpes, infectious mononucleosis,
diphtheria, scarlet fever, Ectomesenchymal chondromyxoid tumor (ECT),
and drug reactions. Ulcers can also be cancerous and cause very
foul odors. Fungal infections in the mouth can also be recognized
by a white coating known as candidiasis or thrush. Another
condition is characterized by a thick white patch on the mucus
membrane of the tongue and mouth: Leukoplakia. Leukoplakia is also
a precancerous lesion. All of these conditions in the mouth will
produce foul odor in the breath.
The oral cavity gets its oxygen with the aid of saliva. Saliva
acts to deter the anaerobic conditions that are produced by
biofilm which is a thin film coating in the mouth. But when
conditions occur that reduce the production of saliva, bacterial
activity increases and can produce bad breath. Conditions that
reduce saliva production can be caused by blockages in the saliva
ducts due to tumors or stones. The salivary gland could have
cancer which will also result in a foul odor in the breath.
Another condition called suppurative parotitis purulant will also
produce bad breath.
Another inflammatory condition that occurs in the mouth is
tonsillitis. The condition has to do with the tonsils which are
lymphoid tissue located in the oropharynx. Regardless of whether
the tonsillitis is chronic or minor, bad breath occurs due to
their inflammation. A complication of tonsillitis known as Quinsy
or Peritonsillar abscess can also result in bad breath.
And yes, bad breath can even linger around even when good oral
hygiene is adhered to. Another condition is where serous fluid
secretes from tonsil folds producing offending odors in the
breath. To make the situation even more offensive, people complain
of coughing out cheesy substances from their throat. These
substances come from crypts in the tonsils where thousands of
bacteria live. Usually the only way to cure this condition is
through a tonsillectomy.
The pharynx can get inflamed in a condition known as pharyngitis
which occurs because of viruses and bacteria. Remember that the
pharynx is a fibro-muscular tube that makes up the upper
respiratory and digestive tract. Here again, abscesses from the
walls of the inflamed pharynx produce pus which also produces the
offensive breath odor.
Those who chew tobacco usually have bad breath. Tobacco is an
irritant and creates film and ulcers on the mucus membrane.
Tobacco chewers usually suffer from pyorrhea and gingivitis too.
Tobacco even affects the gastric system in those who chew causing
eructation (burping) and acid reflux. This will cause the breath
to be offensive because of the gases emitted.
And tobacco usage that causes bad breath includes smokers too.
Smoking is very irritating and it causes lesions to form on the
lungs and inside of the mouth which directly cause offensive
breath. Remember that reducing the oxygen level in the mouth
creates favorable conditions for bacteria. Smoking introduces
carbon dioxide which reduces oxygen flow to the mouth producing
offensive breath. Peptic acid is higher in chain smokers because
of reduced appetite which produces bad breath too.
Dentures are also susceptible to the trapping of small food
particles. It is not always easy to brush the dentures like in the
case of those who wear fixed dentures.
Infections and lesions in the ear and throat can also cause also
cause bad breath. One such infection is sinusitis which infects
the paranasal sinuses. Bad breath can also be the result of post
nasal drip because the discharge has protein in it. Bacteria work
on and degrade protein which produces the offensive smell. Middle
ear infections can cause pus to get discharged in the throat via a
passageway known as the Eustachian tube that runs from the middle
ear into the throat. And, bad smells can be produced from the
breath when foreign material gets trapped in the nose. Another
cause of bad breath coming from the nose is also found in an
infection of the nose’s mucus membrane known as chronic Rhinitis.
Bad breath is a very frequent problem with those who suffer from
diabetes. This is due to the ulcers and other coatings that form
in the mouth. Plus, there is an increased sugar level in the
tissues. To further complicate the problem, bacteria grow much
faster in those with diabetes than in those without.
Having a fever or other infectious disease such as tuberculosis or
AIDs will cause bad breath in most cases too. In fevers, it does
not matter how severe they are. Even a weak fever can cause bad
breath. Typhoid fever will cause extremely bad breath.
When the mouth gets dry, it makes conditions just right for
bacteria to grow and give the breath a bad odor. So in essence,
food and lack of food can cause bad breath. Additionally, fasting
will reduce saliva production and this makes for dry mouth
followed by bad breath. Patients who are bedridden also have
reduced water intake causing dry mouth and bad breath. The problem
is further complicated with bedridden patients because they do not
speak as often and thus have a reduced aeration in the mouth
causing bad breath (due to anaerobic bacteria).
Problems in the esophagus and stomach also cause bad breath. In
the case of bedridden patients, they have a tendency to
regurgitate often and of course this will cause bad breath. People
with problems in the lower sphincter will experience regurgitation
and bad breath. Other problems causing bad breath are gastric
ulcer, gastritis, and stomach cancer. Other problems in the
digestive system like in the intestines will cause bad breath.
Intestinal problems include malabsorption syndrome, intestinal
tuberculosis, peritonitis, and ulcerative colitis.
And the internal disorders that cause bad breath continue. They
include lung diseases like chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, lung
cancer, pneumonia, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Then there are liver
diseases to include cirrhosis and hepatitis. Disorders in the gall
bladder can also cause bad breath.
And finally there are those with psychiatric disorders that have
bad breath mostly because of bad hygiene and poor eating habits
during their illness. People with somatization disorder often
complain of many illnesses to include gastric disturbances which
will cause bad breath.
Original Article
Source:
http://www.medicalneeds.com |
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