Halitosis - An Overview of Bad Breath

By B. Welker

Bad breath is medically known as halitosis. It is the oral mal odor that has its origination from the mouth itself in about 90 percent of the cases. The oral mal odor or bad breath can also be caused due to certain stomach related factors.

Halitosis can be an influencing factor in personal life as well as in social life. Halitosis causes about 33 percent of the people to frequently visit a dentist. It is estimated that in about 87 percent of cases, the bad breath has its origination from the mouth itself. There are many factors that influence the intensity of this problem.

The factors that influence bad breath are the food we have consumed, smoking, obesity and whether the person has consumed alcohol. Different types of food causes different types of intensity of bad breath. Some of the foods that cause mal odor are garlic, onions, cheese and animal meat.

Its highest intensity is at night due to the fact that our mouth is less exposed to oxygen at night than day. Bad breath may be temporary and can disappear after brushing or eating. But it also can become a persistent breath which is estimated to have affected about 25 percent of the patients. This is a more serious concern and can have great impact over the personal confidence, self esteem and social relationships.

Origins of bad breath

Mouth

Bad breath from the mouth is mainly caused due to the presence of several bacteria. These are found even in the mouths of an average cleaned person. In an average mouth, about 600 types of bacteria are present and many of them are solely responsible for the foul smell coming from it.

Anaerobic protein breakdown is the main cause for the production of bad odor. These proteins are broken into individual amino acids by the bacteria in the mouth. Apart from the proteins, there are also several other breakdowns that contribute significantly to the production of bad smell from the mouth.

Tongue

Tongue is a part of the mouth that is solely responsible for mouth related halitosis. The posterior dorsum of the tongue is the location place for large amounts of bacteria. In this position, the bacteria are normally unaffected by our day to day normal activity.

The posterior dorsum also allows the rapid multiplication of bacteria as this part is usually dry and is cleaned poorly. This can cause egg rotten smell from the mouth.

To overcome these bad odors, tongue cleaning must be done regularly. There are many tongue cleaning tools available in the market that can be efficient in cleaning the bacteria from the mouth.

Nose

Nose is considered by many as a major source for bad breath. But in the case of nose, the odor is quite different from the odor that comes from the mouth. Medical experts suggest that the nasal odor is due to some sort of infections like sinus and other foreign body infections.

If you are struggling with bad breath, it's important to understand the source of what might be causing it. Once you've accomplished this, creating a solution to the problem becomes a lot easier.

This article was written to help understand the basics behind bad breath. Finding out how to cure bad breath can be a difficult thing.