Causes of Chronic Bad Breath

In almost all bad breath or halitosis cases, a whopping 85% to 90% of bad breath causes originates from the mouth and the severity of bad breath will vary throughout the day typically because of the food we eat, alcohol consumption and smoking whenever applicable. Likewise, since your mouth does not have enough oxygen due to inactivity when sleeping, bad breath is normally worse in the morning, thus the term ‘morning breath’.

Bad breath can be transient or persistent. With transient bad breath, cleaning your mouth by brushing your teeth, using mouthwash and flossing will work to keep bad breath at bay. However, persistent or chronic bad breath is more serious and may require other methods to keep it at bay.

Understanding Bad Breath Causes, the Mouth and Tongue

Reportedly, over 600 bacteria types thrive in the mouth and over several dozen are capable of producing strong foul odors as reported by experts who incubated the bacteria in a laboratory. These odors are actually created primarily when the proteins break down into individual amino acids. These amino acids in turn also break down and produce bad breath.

To illustrate, bad breath will be produced when methionine and cysteine breaks down and form methyl mercapatan and hydrogen sulfide respectively. These VSCs or volatile sulfur compounds are reportedly related to high levels of bad breath.

Although most bad breath causes are attributed to other mouth parts, the most common part of the mouth directly linked to bad breath is the back of the tongue. These bad breath causes include abscesses, food impactions on the teeth, bad dental work, contaminated dentures, and sub-gingival and inter-dental niches.

Bacteria found in your tongue produce fatty acids and compounds and are responsible for around 80% to 90% of bad breath causes. This is because high amounts of bacteria that naturally occur in the tongue are located in the tongue’s posterior dorsum where they are undisturbed. Likewise, the posterior dorsum is inadequately cleansed and somewhat dry because of its location where bacteria can flourish on postnasal drip, dead epithelial cells, as well as food deposits.

The tongue’s complex microbial structure presents a perfect thriving environment for anaerobic bacteria that when left on the tongue will leave bad breath causes. These bacteria’s anaerobic respiration will then produce the smell of rotten eggs from volatile sulfur compounds like dimethyl sulfide, allyl methyl sulfide, methyl mercapatan and hydrogen sulfide, as well as the putrid smell of polyamines, skatole and indole.

Bad Breath Causes – Rotten Food or Infection?

The first thing you have to know is that there will always be bacteria present in your mouth due to rotten food particles that form VSCs or Volatile Sulfur Compounds which are the typical bad breath causes. However, although rotten food particles are usual suspects, it is not that typical since these can be removed by proper mouth cleaning as with transient bad breath. In this context, if bad breath is persistent, it may be a direct result of an infection or a periodontal disease.

There is however a controversy surrounding periodontal diseases, but periodontal diseases in their advanced stages is one of the most common bad breath causes in individuals with severe bad breath. The anaerobic bacteria that comes from waste deposits that grow below the subgingival or gumline create a malodorous smell that have been proven clinically to produce intense foul odors.

In this case, removing the subgingival calculus such as plaque or tartar, as well as friable tissue will suffice to significantly reduce intense bad breath. This can be done by root irrigation and planing by making use of antibiotic mouthwash or by subgingival scaling. On the other hand, lesions that are oral-based from viral infections such as HPV or Herpes Simplex can also be considered as bad breath causes.

Bad Breath Causes – Reduced Salivation

Another common bad breath cause is reduced salivation wherein you produce only a small amount of saliva which renders your mouth incapable of eliminating rotten food particles and anaerobic bacteria. This generally means that the bacteria will continue on to produce volatile sulfur compounds which will cause their amount to increase in the dry mouth. Below are the most common sources of dry mouth and dehydration:

• Caffeine
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Talking incessantly for long periods
• Side effects of medication

The good news is that if you suspect you have bad breath because of the above, you can keep the VSC’s population low by ensuring that your mouth properly produces saliva and keeping away from the above mentioned causes of dry mouth whenever applicable.

Bad Breath Causes – Acid Reflux

It is also highly possible for the blood chemistry to be considered as one of the bad breath causes if the blood’s pH level becomes highly acidic. For example, a person on a low carbohydrate diet and a person with acid reflux can both experience bad breath.

With both cases, the foul odor comes from within the body. In order to eliminate bad breath in these instances, a detailed assessment of the diet is required to properly restore the body’s blood pH levels. Likewise, it is best to seek your doctor’s advice if your bad breath is caused by imbalanced pH levels.

Bad Breath Causes – Systemic Diseases

In some bad breath cases, some systemic diseases are also to blame. These include the following:

• Diabetes mellitus
• Carcinoma
• Stomach ulcers
• Metabolic dysfunction
• Renal failure or infections
• Lung and bronchial infections
• Fetor hepaticus

Now that you know all about the most common bad breath causes, it is now up to you to address the issue and try to find ways to reduce or completely eliminate your bad breath.