What can my dentist do to cure bad breath?
Bad breath, or halitosis, is a symptom of an underlying condition. Your dentist can help to diagnose some of these oral conditions that cause bad breath:
- Food stuck between teeth
- Periodontal (gum) disease
- Deep cavities
- Bacteria on the tongue or below the gumline
- Abcesses (infections)
- Oral lesions caused by viruses
Other, less common causes of bad breath can potentially be rectified by a change in habits or with the assistance of your family doctor:
- Tonsilitis
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) resulting in regurgitation
- Stress/anxiety
- Smoking or alcohol
- Medications
What are some of the things I can try at home to cure bad breath?
Chronic halitosis is not well understood, so effective self-treatments are not always easy to find. Here are a few of the more commonly suggested strategies:
- Gently cleaning the tongue surface twice daily
- Eating a healthy breakfast
- Chewing sugarless gum
- Gargling with an effective mouthwash
- Maintaining proper oral hygiene
Hello,
In 2013 I got a wisdom tooth removal surgery where I removed all 4 of my wisdom teeth. It took me about a month to heal and ever since then I’ve been having extreme bad breath. During my month of recovery, for the last 2 weeks, I wasn’t able to clean my wisdom teeth holes properly as the water pick used to flush away any food was broken. After I was healed, they did a checkup surgery to make sure the gums were healed properly and said everything looks good. IIt’s 2019, and my bad breath comes everyday and 10 mins after I brush my teeth i will have bad breath. Could it be possible that there has been food stuck under my gums of my wisdom teeth holes for the past 6 years? However, my dentist says my oral hygiene is good and there are no cavities or oral problems. I floss, brush my teeth 2-3x a day and scrape my tongue and use a alcohol free mouthwash. Please help, any advice would be appreciated. I hate living with bad breath everyday, I can’t talk to people and it took a huge emotional and mental toll on my life.
Hi, sorry to hear about your issues. From what you described, it sounds like your wisdom tooth extraction healed properly. So it is unlikely that there is food stuck under the gums of your wisdom teeth causing bad breath after all these years.
I can speculate as to the cause of your halitosis, but without a physical examination it’s impossible to diagnose with any certainty what is causing it. I would encourage you to consult with a professional in a clinical setting to determine the actual cause.
At your next dental checkup, ask your dentist to measure the gum pockets around each tooth with a perdiontal probe. This is to make sure there are no deep gum pockets where bacteria could accumulate and cause bad breath and gum diseases.
Do you smoke or have dry mouth from chronic dehydration? Either of these could be the cause of the odour on your breath, and are remedied by staying hydrated, and/or quitting smoking.
Does your halitosis become more noticeable after eating more of certain foods (e.g. garlic)? Foods with strong odours can often contribute to halitosis.
Bad breath can also come from places other than your mouth. Do you suffer from tonsil stones, acid reflux, post nasal drip or frequent infection or inflammation of the nose or throat or sinus area? They are also potential causes of halitosis. If so, you should consult a family doctor and or ENT (ear, nose throat) specialist.