According to statistics, almost half of the population globe I am tormented by the question of how to get rid of bad breath at home. This topic causes embarrassment and few people talk about it out loud. Often, upbringing does not allow you to tell your interlocutor that he has bad breath. Many live like this, not knowing about their problem, and do not understand why people keep their distance during conversations.
Unpleasant surprise: terrible breath
The term halitosis means painful breathing. In order to evoke only pleasant sensations in others, it is recommended to check oral cavity for freshness. It won't take much time, but it will help solve the problem if there is one.
How do you know if you have bad breath?
- Breathe into your palm and immediately smell it.
- Floss your teeth. What smell it has is what it smells like in the mouth.
- Breathe onto the back of a teaspoon or onto your wrist. If you multiply this smell several times, you will understand what it is like in your mouth.
- Ask loved one.
- Look at the reaction of your interlocutors during close contact.
If you still notice an unpleasant odor from your mouth, you can eliminate it using available means. Just rinse with water or use chewing gum. And be sure to think about a global solution to the problem. To do this, it is recommended to start by identifying the causes of bad breath, because the method and result of the fight depends on this.
Causes of bad breath:
Dental diseases (caries, gum disease, oral mucosa, problems with dentures).
Oral hygiene is either poor or non-existent. As a result, bacteria accumulate or food remains spoil.
Dry mouth. Not enough saliva is produced to kill the bacteria, so they multiply and produce a stench. This may be a consequence of taking medications, such as antidepressants or tranquilizers.
Diseases that provoke halitosis: oncology, renal failure, diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal diseases, upper respiratory tract, pharynx (polyps, tonsillitis), chronic diseases lungs.
Eating large amounts of protein foods. Its breakdown products have the smell of a rotten egg.
Starvation. People who use fasting to improve the health of the body note the occurrence of severe halitosis during the entire duration of the procedure. Some explain this by the release of toxins, others by the smell of waste during fat processing - acetone. Similar processes are observed during diet.
Stress. When the body is under stress, saliva production slows down. Many people are familiar with the situation when, even with excitement, their mouth dries out. A favorable environment for the proliferation of bacteria arises.
Smoking and alcohol cause dry mouth. Saliva does not cope with its disinfecting duties, and the multiplying bacteria actively work, releasing unpleasant products life activity.
Garlic and onions are known for their pungent odor. This is explained by the fact that human body removes substances that it cannot absorb with exhaled air, as well as with stool or urine.
Bad breath, what to do?
If the dentist throws up his hands and prescribes various refreshing pastes and rinses, then it is better to be diagnosed for other diseases. If nothing is found, then you need to carefully monitor your diet and oral hygiene.
How to eliminate bad breath:
Chewing sugar-free gum will increase saliva production and neutralize halitosis. It is not recommended to overuse it - it is harmful to the stomach.
The smell in the mouth perfectly neutralizes coffee beans or dried cloves, they need to be chewed slowly.
Be sure to brush and floss your teeth morning and evening and preferably after every meal. It’s good to clean the base of the tongue, that’s where it accumulates. large number microbes
Visit your dentist if the smell persists. So that he can diagnose and prescribe appropriate treatment.
Be examined for the presence or absence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, ENT, and lungs.
If the cause of the smell is a long break in eating, then you need to eat or drink water. The smell of digested food rises up the empty esophagus, causing trouble.
How to remove bad breath using modern means? The range of such devices is very wide: rinses, sprays, dragees, lollipops, toothpastes, powders, electric and ultrasonic toothbrushes.
Rinse your mouth. Plain water or strong tea cleanse the oral cavity of food debris. Black and green tea contain substances that neutralize sulfur compounds. They are the ones that emit an unpleasant odor.
Any vegetable oil(sunflower, flaxseed, rapeseed, olive) 10 minutes after thoroughly rinsing your mouth with it will restore fresh breath. After which it becomes almost white, because it cleanses the oral cavity.
A special rinse, like a remedy for foot odor, is sold in a pharmacy or store household chemicals. The mouthwash will freshen your breath and disinfect your mouth. But it is recommended to use it as prescribed by a doctor - there may be contraindications.
These products vary in composition. May include: antibacterial substances, pain relievers, astringents, strengthening enamel, stopping bleeding gums, nutrients and substances that prevent the formation of stones on teeth.
Traditional medicine
How to treat bad breath folk remedies, people have known for tens of centuries. Herbal rinses are the most effective because they have no contraindications and, if swallowed, are not harmful, but even beneficial.
- Chamomile, wormwood, strawberry to choose from: pour 1 tablespoon into a glass of boiling water. After half an hour, strain. Rinse 3 times a day.
- Oak bark: pour 1 tablespoon of boiling water and boil in a water bath for about half an hour. Strain and rinse your mouth 3 times a day.
- Mint: pour 1 tablespoon into a glass of boiling water. After half an hour, strain and rinse 3 times a day for 3 weeks.
Eat foods such as:
- Parsley, mint, coriander, wormwood, cardamom, rosemary, eucalyptus neutralize halitosis and improve digestion. These herbs are recommended to be chewed as long as possible or consumed as tea.
- Yogurt without sugar and preservatives, according to scientists, reduces the level of hydrogen sulfide in the oral cavity.
- Fiber-rich foods: apples, celery and carrots cause profuse salivation. This is their secret to combating bad breath.
- Foods rich in vitamin C: citrus fruits, berries. They have a beneficial effect on the condition of the gums and create an environment in which bacteria cannot multiply.
This is interesting:
A special small device was invented - the Kiss-o-Meter odor detector. On a five-point scale, he determines the possibility of a kiss depending on the freshness of the breath.
What causes a specific odor in the mouth? Under certain conditions, the number of bacteria in the mouth increases dramatically. They actively break down proteins, resulting in an increase in the amount of waste in the form of volatile sulfur compounds.
In addition to sulfur, other odors in the mouth may include corpse odor (cadaverine), foot odor (isovaleric acid), excrement odor (methyl mercaptan), rotting meat odor (putrescine), and rotting fish odor (trimethylamine). This is a set!
Products that increase halitosis: cakes, cookies, sweets, milk and its derivatives, meat, fish due to the high content of carbohydrates and proteins.
Particularly unpleasant odor in the mouth strong in the morning. This is due to the fact that during sleep the production of saliva practically stops, and there is no access of oxygen to the oral cavity. So bacteria multiply in such wonderful conditions, leaving their owner or mistress with a morning surprise in the form of waste products.
In older people, halitosis worsens due to a decrease in the amount of saliva secreted with age. On the contrary, in infants, salivation is intense, so bad breath is very rare.
A person cannot do without communication. Each of us is part of a society where we necessarily have to contact other people, make new acquaintances, find new friends and connections.
To communicate with people, it is very important to monitor your appearance. Appearance can say a lot about your interlocutor. It is the “cover” that can create the initial impression of the person with whom you are communicating.
Untidy and sloppy appearance maybe just kill the desire to continue communication. The opposite can also happen - a beautiful and neat appearance will help to achieve the favor of others.
But there are times when even a neat and impeccable appearance cannot save one’s position in society. When even attention to detail cannot overcome just one unpleasant circumstance that destroys any desire to communicate.
We are talking about bad breath. Unfortunately this a very common problem from which he suffers huge amount people all over the world. It is quite difficult to make a good impression on your interlocutor if your breath smells bad. This can turn anyone off. And besides, we must not forget about the impact of this problem on a person’s confidence. No one can be completely confident in themselves if they know that their breath smells terrible, no matter how ugly it may sound.
This article will be devoted to this particular problem - the reasons for its occurrence, as well as ways to get rid of such an unpleasant circumstance that interferes with communication.
Causes of bad breath
As mentioned above, rotten gum odor is a very common problem that absolutely anyone can deal with. Halitosis, which is what the rotten smell is called, can arise due to various reasons. Below are the reasons that can lead to bad breath:
How can you get rid of bad breath? What to do?
If there is a problem, then there must be a solution to this problem. In case of bad breath there is a solution, and not even just one. Which, however, cannot but be encouraging. People who face such a problem in everyday life experience certain problems. Below we will describe ways to get rid of an unpleasant odor. The information presented below can be useful both to people who already suffer from such a problem, and to people who in no case want to ever face this problem.
So, what to do if there is an unpleasant odor:
What else needs to be done to get rid of the stench?
There are a number of ways to get rid of halitosis that you can practice at home and rely on your own strengths and resources. Most often they help, but, unfortunately, not for a long time. In any case, it's worth a try.
Other ways to get rid of stench
All of the above methods for getting rid of unpleasant odors are more radical methods
, which should be started in cases where it is simply necessary. Of course, we must not forget about the more common methods of getting rid of unpleasant odors.
You need to constantly brush your teeth to prevent tooth decay and other oral diseases that can lead to halitosis. Consistent oral hygiene can help combat stink.
Also, do not neglect regular visits to dentists. A specialist can always discover the cause of halitosis, and then prescribe treatment and prescribe necessary medications or procedures. It is simply not possible to fight some of the causes of halitosis on your own. So you should never refuse the services of qualified doctors.
Conclusion
Bad breath is a common problem that is not easy to deal with. But there are solutions to this problem, following which you can get rid of it. You cannot put off solving a problem with an unpleasant odor. Unless, of course, those around you don’t pay any attention to the stench.
You can get rid of it on your own, you can seek help qualified specialists . In any case, the problem is not insoluble, so you should not be discouraged in any case.
Bad breath appears mainly due to diseases of the digestive system. But this problem can be dealt with, since the methods for eliminating it are quite simple and effective - you just need to correctly diagnose the cause bad smell from the mouth. As a rule, it occurs in connection with reproduction anaerobic bacteria on the tongue, in the space between the teeth, around them.
Causes of bad breath
Why does a bad smell occur? The main cause of bad odor is substance white , which covers the root of the tongue, is where bacteria live. Along with this, the unpleasant odor is caused by the accumulation of microorganisms in other parts of the oral cavity.
What determines the intensity of an unpleasant odor? It is usually associated with the following factors:
- The activity of bacteria living in the mouth.
- Conditions that stimulate the growth and number of these microorganisms.
- Poor oral hygiene, which causes their accumulation.
Strong-smelling food
Other causes of bad breath include consuming strong-smelling foods. Some of them like onion or garlic, are famous for causing unpleasant odors. Their molecules, when digested, are absorbed by the body and then removed from it with the help of the blood.
Some, which have a characteristic unpleasant odor, enter the lungs with the bloodstream. From there, they evaporate when you exhale, which becomes the problem of bad breath. Usually, the odor caused by strong-smelling foods goes away on its own after some time, once these particles leave the body. To prevent bad breath, you just need to avoid eating such foods or limit their consumption.
Smoking
Surely each of us has had occasion to communicate with smokers whose breathing differs specific smell . The main causes of bad odor in smoking people is nicotine, tar and other substances that make up cigarette smoke. They tend to accumulate in the mouth and attach to the teeth, gums, tongue, and cheek tissues. To completely get rid of such influence tobacco smoke need to quit smoking.
It is worth noting that smokers suffer from dehydration of oral tissues, causing the moisturizing and disinfecting properties of saliva to become weaker, and this is fertile ground for bacterial activity. Smokers are also more susceptible to periodontal disease than others. Gum disease occurs due to the proliferation of bacteria.
Dry mouth
Surely you have noticed that in the morning, as soon as we open our eyes, our breath is not fresh. This is due to the fact that at night the body produces less saliva than during the day, causing dryness occurs. Dry mucous membranes are often found in people whose work involves speech, for example, teachers or lawyers have to talk a lot, which often causes them to feel dry mouth.
This concerns occupational dry mouth, but there is also a disease called xerostomia, which causes chronic lack of moisture. Sufferers of this disease experience difficulty in the struggle for fresh breath. Since moisture promotes natural cleansing from bacteria. Saliva consists of special substances that have antiseptic properties, therefore leads to the death of microorganisms and neutralizes the remains of their vital activity.
Cause xerostomia side effects from some medical supplies. The appearance of the disease can be caused by antidepressants, antihistamines, diuretics, narcotic substances. Dry mouth can get worse with age because salivary glands no longer able to work with the same strength, changes occur in its composition. Cleansing properties weaken. Those suffering from xerostomia are more likely than others to experience gum problems, so it needs to be treated.
Periodontal diseases
Why is there still an unpleasant odor? Gum disease also causes bad smell in the mouth. Periodontal disease is the second most common cause of its appearance after bacteria. People over 35 years of age are susceptible to them, and the older you are, the higher the risk. Periodontal disease occurs due to infection of the soft tissues surrounding the tooth.
If they are not cured in time, this may cause bone damage, to which the teeth are attached. As the disease progresses, tissue sheds from the area between the teeth and gums, forming pockets in which bacteria can grow. The deeper the pocket, the more difficult it is to clean, so it contains a large number of microorganisms that cause putrid smell.
Other diseases
Allergies and diseases of the upper respiratory tract lead to the formation of mucous secretions that descend from the nasal cavity into the mouth, causing an unpleasant odor.
Sinus diseases, accompanied by nasal congestion, force you to breathe through your mouth, which leads to drying out of the mucous membrane and unpleasant smell from the mouth. With it, patients often take antihistamines, which also cause dry mouth.
Often the causes putrid smell Oral diseases arise from the mouth. Any inflammatory process, caused by infection, may be the reason for this, for example, this situation is observed with a tooth abscess, eruption of a wisdom tooth. If you have untreated carious teeth in your mouth, a lot of bacteria and food debris accumulate in them, causing bad breath. Oral diseases must be treated promptly.
Diseases internal organs may cause putrid odor from the mouth. If the patient has tried all means of removing bad breath, but there was no effect, then it is necessary to visit a therapist. Your doctor will probably have an idea of your health status and can tell you possible reason bad breath. For example, a bad odor may be associated with diseases of the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract.
Treatment
The main source of putrid breath is sulfur compounds secreted by microorganisms living in the oral cavity. To reduce the risk of developing oral diseases and get rid of bad breath caused by uninvited guests, it is necessary to carry out treatment, which consists of high-quality hygiene. It is as follows:
- Bacteria are not given the opportunity to feed.
- Reduce their number.
- Do not create conditions for their development.
How to deprive microorganisms of nutrients?
Bad breath is caused by waste products that bacteria produce when digesting proteins. Therefore, vegetarians are less likely to suffer from bad breath than those whose diet consists primarily of protein foods - meat. After each meal, food particles remain between the teeth and on the base of the tongue, which provide anaerobic bacteria with food. To deprive them of this opportunity, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the oral cavity after each meal by rinsing the mouth.
To remove bacterial waste products that settle as plaque on the teeth and along the gum line, you need to use a toothbrush and floss. To eradicate bad breath, you should take good quality food every day. clean the space between teeth using dental floss, since it is inaccessible to a toothbrush.
Visit the dentist
Contacting a dentist will help if independent measures to combat bad breath are unsuccessful. This must be done for the following reasons:
- Not everyone knows how to effectively brush and floss their teeth. During the consultation, the doctor will definitely conduct a master class on manipulating these objects.
- To effectively brush your teeth, you need to remove the accumulated tartar, which will be removed by your dentist.
- To identify periodontal diseases that cause damage to the teeth and surrounding bones. If the disease is present, the doctor will prescribe treatment. In addition, in advanced stages It is impossible to effectively clean the resulting pockets on your own.
- During the examination, the doctor may detect other diseases that cause bad breath and prescribe treatment.
- If a doctor in his specialty does not find any problems, he can refer you to a therapist for examination, explaining the possible problems.
To clean the surface of the tongue from accumulated bacteria, use a toothbrush or a special item for cleaning it. Move forward from the root of the tongue. For effective cleaning use language toothpaste, neutralizing sulfur emissions. Pastes with chlorine dioxide or zinc will give freshness to your breath.
Use rinse aids
Liquid mouth rinses can help effective action to protect fresh breath if used together with regular use toothbrush and floss, and cleansing the tongue. The following properties can be used as a treatment for bad breath:
- Antibacterial.
- Neutralizing volatile sulfur compounds.
Rinse aids contain substances that can neutralize bad odor:
- Chlorine dioxide or sodium chlorite.
- Zinc.
- Antiseptic action.
- Cetylpyridone chloride.
So, main reason appearance bad breath is a collection of microorganisms that feed on protein particles, leaving waste from their vital activity. To expel uninvited guests and reduce their population, you should carry out high-quality brushing of your teeth and tongue using dental floss and rinses.
Determining the freshness of your own breath is not at all easy. We adapt to the aromas that we smell all the time and stop noticing them. In addition, the oral cavity and nasopharynx are unified system, and this makes verification difficult. But there are some simple and visual ways understand if there is a bad smell.
- Lick your wrist with the tip of your tongue and wait 15-20 seconds until the saliva dries. The scent left on the skin will give you some idea of the freshness of your breath. However, the tip of the tongue collects the smallest amount of bacteria, so the results will not be completely true.
- The main breeding ground for microflora that causes an unpleasant odor is located at the root of the tongue. Swipe or cotton swab in this area and smell it: if the “sample” smells sharp, there is a high probability that your breath may be spoiled.
- Take a plastic cup, place it on your lips and release the air through your mouth. The smell inside the container will help determine if you are suffering from halitosis.
- Ask a loved one if he notices a specific “smell” when he communicates with you. Sometimes this is the most reliable way find out the answer to a sensitive question.
A slight bad breath in the morning is a completely normal phenomenon that almost everyone experiences. This happens due to a reduction in saliva production, mild dehydration and the accumulation of desquamated epithelium in the mouth. After a morning glass of water and brushing my teeth, everything returns to normal. But if the symptoms do not disappear throughout the day, we are talking about a disease - halitosis.
There are two main categories of causes of halitosis: oral (associated with diseases of the teeth, gums, tonsils, nasopharynx) and systemic - due to disturbances in the functioning of internal organs. In the vast majority of cases, we are dealing with the first reason.
Oral form
The specific putrid odor from the mouth is a product of the vital activity of anaerobic bacteria. They accumulate where there is no air: under dental plaque, under the gums, in carious cavities, in the language. By breaking down amino acids, bacteria release substances with a specific aroma (for example, hydrogen sulfide).
- Caries (including under dentures), gingivitis, pulpitis, periodontitis, stomatitis, dental cysts, pericoronitis. Rotten smell may indicate the beginning of necrotic processes.
- Diseases of the ENT organs: inflammation of the tonsils, adenoids, sinuses, nasal mucosa, especially if there is purulent discharge. Excessive mucus production leads to foul odor.
- Excessive dry mouth (xerostomia). Due to decreased salivation, the mouth is less cleaned and, accordingly, the likelihood of dental odor increases.
Bad smell as a symptom
Bad breath may also have other causes. The state of our breathing is affected by the functioning of the liver, kidneys, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system, taking certain medications, smoking and addiction to alcohol. Only a doctor can determine the cause of halitosis, but the smell itself will help you get some idea of the disorder.
- The smell of acetone or rotting apples indicates the growth of ketone bodies in the blood plasma. In children it can be a type 1 diabetes syndrome, infectious diseases or diet disorders. In adults - talk about the development of type II diabetes or poor diet in the background alcohol addiction. When acetone appears in your breath, you first need to take a blood test to check the sugar content.
- The smell of urine (ammonia) raises suspicions about the development of kidney failure.
- Fishy smell - trimethylaminuria syndrome, genetic disease, in which the substance trimethylamine accumulates in the body.
- Smell rotten eggs indicates something else genetic disorder- cystinosis.
- Sweet smell may indicate decreased liver function and even cirrhosis.
- Sour smell- about bronchial asthma.
- The smell of iron - probable symptom diseases of the blood, pancreas or stomach. But it can also be caused by wearing metal prosthetics or drinking water with high content iron, so there is no need to worry ahead of time.
- The smell of vomit or excrement sometimes accompanies intestinal obstruction.
How to say goodbye to bad breath?
The problem can be eliminated only after its cause is determined. If the problem is diseases of the teeth and gums, it is necessary to cure all inflammatory and necrotic processes, put fillings, and, if necessary, replace dentures. Sometimes patients experience an unpleasant odor after tooth extraction: similar symptom may indicate the onset of complications, so it is better to see a dentist as soon as possible. Periodontitis and periodontal disease give off a particularly strong putrid odor. The doctor will remove the deposits with ultrasound and prescribe therapy.
Because common cause If there is an unpleasant odor in children, tonsillitis, bronchitis, sinusitis and other ENT diseases cause a treatment strategy to be chosen with an otolaryngologist. Komarovsky also recommends correcting mouth breathing - the cause of dryness and halitosis.
How to prevent bad breath?
To avoid unpleasant problem, prevention is necessary.
- First of all, high-quality oral hygiene. It includes not only brushing your teeth with a brush and toothpaste twice a day, but also using antibacterial rinses, dental floss, and sometimes an irrigator. It is better to use a plastic scraper rather than a brush.
- Once every 5-7 months, you must visit the dentist to remove dental plaque and conduct an examination. Almost any disease of the teeth and gums can be determined by initial stage without waiting for inflammation, pain and unpleasant odor.
- Experts recommend drinking 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day. This will help avoid dehydration and dry mouth.
- Healthy diet will keep your breath fresh. In the morning, it is better to give preference to oatmeal, which promotes salivation. Don't overdo it with protein and fatty foods, dairy products, coffee and spices, but be sure to include apples, oranges and celery in the menu.
- Go regularly preventive examinations see doctors and get tested.
Here and now and cause self-doubt in the long term. Especially if you don't know why it appeared.
Condition, good known to doctors like halitosis, can be caused by both minor and. In the latter case, diagnosis and treatment are required, so a visit to a specialist is definitely not possible. On the other hand, if you are sure that everything is in order with your health, here are three things that could have caused everything to happen:
Bacteria in the mouth
Research shows that the most common cause of bad breath is bacterial plaque, especially on the teeth, gums and tongue. And while poor or poor hygiene is often to blame, a common trigger remains dry mouth - the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive and thrive. This also explains the fact that for most people (since saliva production stops during sleep), breathing can hardly be called pleasant.
Disease and medicine
Although this state of affairs is less common compared to the previous reason, it may still work in your case. Extremely bad breath—much worse than normal—could be a sign of lung disease, according to dentist Harold Katz in Medical Daily. Besides, bad breath can act as a symptom of respiratory tract infection, inflammation of the tonsils and some other diseases. Plus, in some cases, the side effects of the medications you take as recommended by your doctor can also be associated with bad breath.
Alcohol, cigarettes and diet
Halitosis is often caused by our bad habits, be it or . Alcohol is known to cause dehydration, but smoking can not only dry out your mouth, but also increase the amount of odor-causing compounds in your body. Nutritionists add that the list of “potentially dangerous” should also include a low-carbohydrate diet + the habit of skipping meals with enviable regularity.
Some foods, such as spices, cabbage and radishes, may also be culprits, Health.com reports. So, in any case, you should be very careful about your diet.
How to get rid of bad breath
Speaking about how to get rid of bad breath, it is important to note that if we are talking about a disease, then recommendations should come primarily from your doctor. If the situation is less serious, there are several ways to deal with the problem that are worth trying:
Hygiene habits
Brush your teeth twice a day, using a tongue-cleaning pad on it. back side. And if possible, use mouthwash after every meal. This is especially important for those who are at risk of bad breath (such as people who wear braces or dentures). Among the obvious recommendations: visit the dentist twice a year and do not forget to change your toothbrush after illness.
Drink more water
In the case of bad breath, the formula works perfectly: the better, the better. We are, of course, talking about clean water without gas, while sweet soda, which can harm enamel, is best avoided. Water-rich fruits and vegetables such as apples, cucumbers, celery and carrots will also be a useful addition. They, experts say, can act as an alternative toothbrush, removing food debris stuck between teeth.
What about chewing gum? This, dentists note, is also not bad and universal method hydration. “The saliva produced during chewing is responsible for reducing bad breath,” says Cassiano Kuchenbecker Rösing, professor at the University of Rio Grande do Sol.
Home Remedies
According to Jennifer Jablow, a cosmetic dentist in New York City, you can chew fresh leaves mint or parsley. She explains that parsley, for example, contains chlorophyll, which prevents the formation of chlorophyll that contributes to unpleasant odors. Ready to move on? You can also make a homemade mouthwash. Dentist Debra Glassman of Glassman Dental Care says that the cup warm water with a tablespoon baking soda and a few drops of oil peppermint copes well with the assigned tasks.