Why does my mouth smell? Quick ways to eliminate bad breath

From this article you will learn:

bad breath – causes and treatment,
What is the smell of acetone, ammonia, etc. associated with?
how to get rid of bad breath at home.

Bad breath is commonly called the professional term “halitosis.” Most often, patients have to deal with the so-called oral form of halitosis. Its causes are various problems in the oral cavity - poor hygiene, carious teeth, inflammation of the gums, chronic inflammation of the tonsils, nasal passages and sinuses, etc.

It is also customary to distinguish halitosis from systemic causes. In this case, bad breath does not develop due to problems in the oral cavity, nose or sinuses, but is associated with systemic pathology of the body - diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system and kidneys, diabetes, taking medications, etc. (Fig. 1).

How does an unpleasant odor occur?

The first form of bad breath (the so-called “oral halitosis”) is usually divided into physiological and pathological forms. For example, a slight unpleasant odor, which is present in most people in the morning, is a physiological norm associated with a decrease in salivation during sleep, an abundance of desquamated epithelial cells, and a decrease in fluid intake. However, a sharp unpleasant odor already indicates the presence of some kind of pathology.

The cause of physiological and pathological oral halitosis lies in the formation of volatile sulfur compounds, diamines, and short-chain fatty acids in the oral cavity. These compounds are formed mainly due to some forms of anaerobic and gram-negative bacteria that have proteolytic properties (Fig. 2). The only gram-positive bacterium that may be involved is Stomatococcus mucilaginous.

Why your breath smells: reasons (diagram 1-3)

When these bacteria break down amino acids (such as cystine, cysteine and methionine), foul-smelling compounds are released. For example, hydrogen sulfide is formed from cysteine, and methyl mercaptan is formed from methionine (Fig. 3). These amino acids are normally always present in the oral fluid in small quantities, but with poor oral hygiene, their concentration in the oral fluid increases sharply.

Those. As soon as you don’t brush your teeth after any meal or snack with candy or cookies, bacteria immediately begin the proteolytic breakdown of proteins/amino acids, and you can immediately say “hello” to the unpleasant odor. The intensity of the unpleasant odor will directly depend on the concentration of hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, diamines, and fatty acids with low molecular weight released.

Causes of halitosis not of oral origin –
as we said above, bad breath may appear not due to problems with the oral cavity, but due to various systemic diseases. In each specific case there will be a different reason. For example, in case of diabetes mellitus, the cause of the unpleasant odor of acetone is the development of ketoacidosis, and in case of severe kidney pathology, the smell of ammonia may appear from the mouth (we will discuss all systemic causes below).

Bad breath: causes and treatment

So why does bad breath form? The causes of oral halitosis in 85% of cases are: food debris between the teeth and excess microbial plaque, rotting carious teeth (including teeth under artificial crowns and bridges), chronic inflammation of the gums. This is all that occurs as a result of poor quality and/or irregular teeth cleaning.

The second most common group of causes of oral halitosis is inflammation of the tonsils, chronic inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses, especially if there are polyps in them. Children often have bad breath due to these reasons. There is no need to think that if the nasal passages and sinuses are not in the mouth, then this cannot lead to odor. With all these diseases, there is an increase in mucus secretion + constant infectious growth.

From the nasal cavity, all this flows into the nasopharynx, and then enters the oropharynx - at the root of the tongue, tonsils. Mucus (the secretion of mucous glands) is rich in amino acids, exfoliated epithelial cells, pathogenic microorganisms, which makes it an excellent basis for the appearance of an unpleasant odor. By the way, bad breath in smokers is associated, among other things, with copious secretion of mucus and phlegm. Below we will look at all the main reasons and tell you how to remove bad breath.

1. Microbial plaque on teeth, food debris -

Regular brushing of teeth is necessary to remove microbial plaque and food debris. Both are the main source of unpleasant odor for most people. Food residues are a source of amino acids, which, through proteolysis (i.e. rotting), are converted by microbial plaque bacteria into foul-smelling volatile compounds (hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, diamines, etc.).

Microbial plaque, hard tartar -

Moreover, food residues are not only a supplier of amino acids for their conversion into bad-smelling chemicals. Food residues contain carbohydrates that are converted by cariogenic bacteria in the oral cavity into lactic acid, which leads to the dissolution of enamel and the formation of caries. The resulting acid shifts the pH of the oral fluid to the acidic side (below 5.5), which is necessary to begin the decarboxylation of amino acids to diamines, the second group of foul-smelling compounds.

The more microbial plaque and hard tartar you have on your teeth, the faster the process of decay of food debris and their transformation into volatile sulfur compounds and diamines occurs. Therefore, it is very important to brush your teeth after every meal, not only with a brush and toothpaste, but also with dental floss. Without dental floss, there is no way to remove rotting food debris stuck between your teeth. And we’re not just talking about large stuck pieces of meat here.

The most dangerous things are small sticky food residues that do not cause trouble and therefore people do not consider it necessary to remove them from the dental spaces, believing that rinsing will be enough. In fact, not only rinsing, but also a toothbrush cannot remove such residues. This can only be done with dental floss.

How to get rid of bad breath in this case - firstly, you need to make an appointment with a dentist, who will remove all dental plaque and polish your teeth. This will cost you approximately 3,500 rubles. Secondly, even without this, everything else will be in vain - it is necessary to completely correct all shortcomings in oral hygiene. Floss after every meal, avoid snacking between meals, clean your tongue regularly, etc.

2. Microbial plaque on the tongue -

With these diseases, the amount of pathogenic infection in the dental-gingival or periodontal pockets sharply increases, which causes an unpleasant odor or increases its severity. Especially often, an unpleasant odor bothers such patients against the background of an exacerbation of the inflammatory process, because During these periods, suppuration often occurs from periodontal pockets.

How to remove bad breath from gum disease -
The best place to start is to visit a periodontist (this is the dentist who professionally treats gum inflammation). The first stage of treatment, as in the previous case, will be ultrasonic teeth cleaning, which is necessary to remove all microbial plaque and tartar. It is very important to remove not only supragingival, but also the most important thing – subgingival dental plaque.

After the doctor has removed the plaque from your teeth, it is prescribed (the course of treatment is usually 10 days). Usually the complex consists of antiseptic rinses and applications of anti-inflammatory gel for the gums. If teeth cleaning can only be done at the dentist, then anti-inflammatory therapy is carried out by the patient at home - after the dentist’s prescriptions and recommendations.

4. In case of inflammation of the gums near the wisdom tooth -

When a wisdom tooth erupts, part of its chewing surface is often partially covered by a hood of mucous membrane. A space is created between the mucous membrane and the crown of the tooth in which a pathogenic pyogenic infection multiplies well. This disease is called pericoronitis or inflammation of the hood over the wisdom tooth. To understand how to eliminate bad breath in this case, read the article at the link below.

5. Caries and tooth decay under crowns -

Carious defects in teeth are an excellent place for food debris to rot and infection to accumulate. And here, probably, you don’t even need to say anything more about why your breath stinks in this case, and what needs to be done about it. There can only be one answer - go to the dentist, and it is very strange if someone does not understand this.

The smell of acetone from the mouth of a child and an adult -

1) In children –
the smell of acetone or the sweetish smell of rotten apples are symptoms of the development of ketoacidosis, which is expressed in a significant increase in the content of ketone bodies in the blood. This can happen for two reasons. The first cause of ketoacidosis is diabetes mellitus. Therefore, a sweetish fruity smell or the smell of acetone from a child’s mouth may be the first sign of type 1 diabetes.

The second cause of ketoacidosis in children is most often the result of errors in diet. For example, long periods of hunger, or excessive consumption of fatty foods (at the same time as insufficient consumption of carbohydrates), as well as insufficient water consumption during the day. Also, ketoacidosis in children can develop against the background of somatic, infectious, endocrine diseases and damage to the central nervous system.

2) In adults –
the smell of acetone from the mouth of an adult: the reasons for this also lie in the development of ketoacidosis. Only, if we are talking about diabetic ketoacidosis, the smell of acetone or a fruity smell will indicate type 2 diabetes (and not type 1 as in children). If we are talking about non-diabetic ketoacidosis, then most often its causes in adults are alcohol consumption against a background of malnutrition/starvation, i.e. deterioration of nutrition.

Thus, if an adult or a child’s breath smells of acetone, then the first thing to do is take a blood sugar test and consult an endocrinologist.

Bad breath in a child - other causes

If a child has bad breath, this may not only be due to diabetes or metabolic disorders. Below we have listed the main reasons that most often cause bad breath in a child.

Other most common causes –

Accordingly, to determine the cause, you need to consult a pediatric dentist and an ENT doctor. Never go to public children's dental clinics, because... If it’s okay to find Laura in a state clinic somehow, but it’s possible, then never a dentist.

Interesting fact -
Eating too much dairy products increases the production of mucus by the mucous glands (mouth, nasal cavity, sinuses). Therefore, a dairy diet can also contribute to the appearance of an unpleasant odor.

For systemic diseases -

Just as in case of diabetes, the exhaled air may smell of acetone or apples, different systemic diseases of the body can also give different odors to the breath of patients. For example:

sour breath – with bronchial asthma or cystic fibrosis of the lungs,
smell of ammonia from the mouth (urea) – in case of chronic renal failure,
trimethylaminuria – gives an unpleasant fishy odor,
with cirrhosis of the liver (due to a decrease in its function) - some of the metabolites are removed from the body through the lungs, which leads to the appearance of a specific odor, which can be sweetish or resemble the smell of excrement,
smell of rotten eggs from the mouth – with Lignac disease (cystine metabolism disorder),
smell of rot from the mouth - the cause may be ulcerative-necrotizing gingivitis,
if the patency of the small or large intestine is impaired, there is a smell of feces from the mouth.

For gastrointestinal diseases -

There are 2 pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), the connection of which with an unpleasant odor has been proven in clinical studies. These include gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as the presence of the microorganism Helicobacter pylori in the stomach and intestines, which is one of the causes of the development of peptic ulcers. Moreover, the formation of an unpleasant odor is associated with only three strains of Helicobacter pylori (namely H. pylori ATCC 43504, H. pylori SS 1, H. pylori DSM 4867).

Other H. pylori species do not produce an odor and therefore are not associated with halitosis. It should be noted that in large families there is a risk of cross-infection with H. pylori. To identify carriage, a urea breath test, serum antibody testing, saliva testing, biopsy and molecular DNA analysis are used. How to get rid of bad breath due to H. pylori – treatment with specific antibiotics (amoxicillin, clarithromycin), as well as drugs from the “proton pump inhibitors” group.

In addition, there are metabolic disorders in the intestines, for example, trimethylaminuria, the presence of which causes a specific fishy odor coming from the exhaled air and from the whole body in general. By the way, this genetic disease is the most common cause of undiagnosed unpleasant body odor.

For respiratory diseases -

In diseases such as acute and chronic rhinitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis and bronchiectasis, excessive accumulation of mucus and sputum occurs, which causes accelerated growth of pathogenic bacteria and, as a result, the appearance of an unpleasant odor. By the way, this cause of halitosis is more common in children (than in adults), because children are more susceptible to developing respiratory infections.

How to use dental floss and toothbrush correctly -

3. Transformation of volatile sulfur components –

Metal ions with affinity for sulfur can convert sulfur-containing gases into non-volatile, odorless compounds. For example, zinc lactate or zinc acetate can be used for this. Moreover, the effectiveness of zinc compounds will be higher if the composition of the product simultaneously with zinc contains an antiseptic - chlorhexidine or cetylpyridine (or even better, if both, since cetylpyridine enhances the bactericidal effect of chlorhexidine).

An interesting point is that triclosan, in addition to its antibacterial effect, also has a direct effect against volatile sulfur compounds. However, the effect of triclosan on volatile sulfur compounds mainly depends on the copolymer with which it is always combined. Below you can find toothpastes and rinses that contain this combination.

4. Masking the smell –

the use of various sprays with peppermint or menthol essential oil, mint tablets or chewing gum has only a short-term masking effect. Basically, they increase saliva production, which causes volatile sulfur compounds in saliva to temporarily dissolve. But this only works for a short period of time.

Hygiene products for bad breath –

1. Colgate ® Total Pro “Healthy Breath” toothpaste –

One of the obstacles in adults’ communication with others is bad breath. It is important to diagnose the causes of bad breath and then treat the disease. As a result, a person gets rid of the smell.

In medicine, this symptom is called halitosis. It serves as an indicator of various conditions. This could be a metabolic disorder or the activity of some bacteria. During illness, pathogenic bacteria displace existing microorganisms. The waste products of new residents are toxic and have a different smell.

There are 2 types of halitosis: true and false. With false halitosis, the patient has already passed the treatment stage, but he still has a subjective feeling of the presence of an odor, and this is the work of a psychotherapist. True halitosis is divided into physiological and pathological.

Physiological halitosis goes away on its own with regular oral hygiene. This type appears:

In the morning after waking up. At night, less saliva is produced.
Bad habits: smoking and alcoholic drinks.
Consumption of products with a strong odor. When onions and garlic are digested, chemicals are released through the lungs. Toothpaste won't help here.
When fasting. “Hungry” breathing appears.
After taking certain medications. Products of drug metabolism are excreted through the lungs.
When dehydrated. A person drinks too little water, the production of saliva slows down, and it does not perform the function of disinfection. Bacteria begin to multiply rapidly, releasing volatile compounds.

Scientists have proven that anaerobic sulfur-producing microorganisms are the primary source of odor from the oral cavity and are localized in the area of the tongue and throat.

Oxygen-rich saliva prevents the growth of bacteria. If plaque forms on the teeth, cheeks and tongue, then it is a nutrient medium in which volatile sulfur compounds are produced.

One toothbrush is not enough. No need to ignore hard-to-reach areas. It is important to clean your tongue using the same brush or scraper. Additionally, flosses and irrigators are made for cleaning.

People who regularly brush their teeth, take care of their condition, drink water, and eat properly should not have any odor. What smells is something that stagnates.

Bad breath in adults can cause pathologies that are difficult to treat. As soon as breathing has become unbearable and it is impossible to get rid of it with oral hygiene, then first you should visit a dentist on the issue of caries and gum inflammation.

It must be visited every six months, even if there are no complaints. According to dentists, periodontitis and gingivitis occur in 90% of people who are unaware of it.

The cause is bacteria that accumulate in the space between the teeth, which is difficult to clean. Plaque forms into tartar and deepens under the gums, causing an unpleasant odor. The dentist will provide local treatment, but the real problem may lie deeper.

If everything is fine with your teeth, then the next thing will be a visit to the otolaryngologist. The most common cause is tonsils. With tonsillitis and adenoid growths, the tonsils turn into a bag of unpleasant-smelling pus.

There may be mushrooms there, the waste products of which smell unpleasant. With rhinitis, mucus is produced, which emits a heavy odor. Breathing through your mouth when you have a runny nose dries out your mouth, making the situation worse.

The cause of oral odor in adults may be a lack of enzymes, which will require treatment.

Volatile compounds depend on the type of bacteria. Some smells can help identify serious illnesses or their exacerbation. What do diseases smell like?

Putrid smell

A putrid odor may be a symptom of esophageal diverticulum. A pocket forms on the wall of the esophagus, into which some of the food falls. Food leftovers do not enter the stomach, accumulate and rot. Such people may regurgitate undigested food at night.

In a healthy body, saliva is alkaline and does not smell. When the acidity in the oral cavity decreases, caries develops with the appearance of a putrid odor. Periodontal disease, tonsillitis, and pancreatitis have a similar “aroma.” It should be taken into account that with age, saliva production slows down and you need to drink more water.

Stool smell

The smell of feces from the mouth appears in the following cases:

Exacerbations of atrophic gastritis.
Dysbacteriosis, which is evidenced by a white coating on the tongue.
Dyskinesia of the gallbladder. There is also a coating on the tongue.
Be a product of the vital activity of worms.
In cancer patients with intestinal obstruction.
Stress dries out the oral cavity, creating conditions for odor.

Smell of acetone

In adults, the smell of acetone in the mouth is especially alarming. It is impossible to get rid of such an aroma even after sanitizing the mouth, as it appears when breathing. The causes of the smell are under-oxidized compounds released by the lungs, and it is necessary to treat, first of all, the sources of bad breath. This smell portends several diseases.

The smell of acetone with a sweet taste in the mouth is one of the first signs of diabetes. With this disease, there is not enough insulin in the blood, glucose is broken down worse and fats are used. During the reaction, ketone bodies appear, which are acetone. The process is accompanied by a violation of the secretion of the salivary glands. Saliva becomes insufficient and the body does not cleanse itself.

The kidneys remove harmful substances from fluids and blood. Failure in their work also causes the appearance of acetone breath.

Those who practice long-term fasting as a remedy go through a stage when their breath acquires an odor with a predominance of acetone. If the procedure is carried out correctly, the unpleasant aroma goes away. Otherwise, the body is destroyed.

A malfunction of the thyroid gland can cause sudden weight loss, insomnia, and irritability. This disease is accompanied by an acetone smell.

A large lack of carbohydrates in various mono-diets encourages the body to use fat reserves as an energy reserve. The result of such a diet will be the appearance of ketone bodies - acetone and its smell.

The same thing happens with excessive alcohol consumption. Ketone bodies are potent toxic substances. Once in the blood, they poison the systems through which the blood flow passes.

Sweet smell

A sweetish “liver” smell comes from liver diseases that remain asymptomatic for a long time. In this case, it would be wise to consult a therapist.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a sweet smell in diseases of the lungs, otitis. The smell of honey emanating from a person requires the intervention of a doctor.

Sour smell

The appearance of such a smell indicates gastritis with increased secretory activity of the stomach or an ulcer. The smell does not go away even after eating. The disease is accompanied by the release of stomach contents into the esophagus - heartburn. The odorous substances that hydrochloric acid contains emit a sour odor.

Rotten egg smell

If the acidity of the stomach is reduced, then protein foods are not completely digested, the process of rotting begins, and an unpleasant odor rises up the esophagus. Belching a rotten egg is a symptom of such a pathology.

Ammonia smell

Ammonia odor occurs in diseases of the genitourinary system. This could be nephritis, cystitis, urolithiasis, urethritis. In this case, the human body is released from excess nitrogen through the lungs.

Home Recipes for Oral Remedies

This is a medical subject - bad breath, causes and treatment in adults. How to get rid of such discomfort at home? There are no fewer ways to get rid of such a smell forever than the reasons for its appearance. Available medications available in every first aid kit, plants and products will come in handy. It must be remembered that any treatment must take place against the background of proper nutrition.

Oil emulsion

Sucking oil has a beneficial effect on health. This is a simple technique to remove toxins from the body. The procedure eliminates bleeding gums and foreign odor in the mouth.

Suck a tablespoon of unrefined vegetable oil like a candy. It becomes liquid and turns white. After 20 minutes, spit out the emulsion and rinse your mouth thoroughly.

Gargling with herbal infusions

Rinse cleanses your mouth better than chewing gum or mints. To eliminate the smell, you can prepare a homemade rinse from calendula, chamomile, St. John's wort, and sage. These herbs have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.
The decoction can be either mixed or separate.

1 tbsp. Brew a spoon with 200 g of boiling water;
heat for 15 minutes on steam without boiling;
cool, strain and rinse your mouth after eating.

According to this recipe, to enhance the secretion of saliva, decoctions of bitter herbs are prepared: wormwood, yarrow.

Hydrogen peroxide rinse

The body needs oxygen because it is a powerful oxidizing agent. It takes on the function of deoxidizing and destroying organic substances.

Anaerobic microorganisms containing sulfur will be removed by active oxygen. This method should be used regularly.

Use of activated carbon

The unpleasant odor after a large feast is neutralized by activated carbon. Eat 5 tablets in the morning on an empty stomach, and 4 tablets before bed. The smell goes away after 3 days. You can brush your teeth with charcoal powder 2 times a week.

Aloe and honey mixture

Traditional medicine recommends mixtures based on juice from the leaves of young aloe arborescens for gastritis of low acidity. It must be remembered that long-term consumption of juice is unacceptable. It is contraindicated for high blood pressure, fibrous formations, polyps, and pregnant women.

Honey is used in the treatment of liver, intestines and stomach ulcers. The treatment outcome is influenced by the method and time of administration. Therefore, you should figure out whether you need to take aloe with honey, how and at what time. This mixture must be agreed with your doctor.

Do not pre-water the plant for a week. During this time, it will accumulate useful substances.

Pass 1.5 kg of lower shoots through a meat grinder;
mix with 2.5 kg of honey and 850 ml of Cahors;
transfer to a dark glass jar;
stand without access to light for a week.

The age of the agave is from 3 to 5 years. Honey is taken from May.

Take a teaspoon one hour before meals, 1 time per day for 5 days. Then increase the daily dose to 3 teaspoons per day. The course of therapy takes 2 - 3 months.

Buckwheat flour

Roast a glass of buckwheat in the oven. Cool and grind into flour with a coffee grinder. Take a coffee spoon in the morning on an empty stomach for 10 days. After a 3-day break, resume treatment. Use until bad breath completely disappears.

Oak bark

Oak bark is considered one of the best astringents for strengthening bleeding gums. This remedy prevents the growth of bacteria, attacks of peptic ulcers, relieves inflammation in the stomach during gastritis and normalizes intestinal function.

Decoction for indigestion:

1 tbsp. spoon of product per 500 g of water;
bring to a boil, cool, filter;
drink a quarter glass half an hour before meals twice a day.

To rinse the mouth, prepare a stronger decoction:

3 tbsp. l. bark per 200 ml of boiled water;
simmer for 25 minutes over low heat;
pass through a strainer and add up to 300 ml;
clean your mouth every 2 hours.

Store in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Any oak bark products are taken temporarily. The course of treatment does not exceed half a month. Long-term use leads to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach and intestinal bleeding. Rinsing the mouth in such cases darkens the teeth and leads to a partial loss of smell.

Pine needles and mint

To get rid of unwanted odor, just chew young pine needles or fresh mint until it becomes liquid. During the chewing process, the oral cavity is disinfected with fungicides. At the same time, your teeth will be cleansed of food debris and bacteria.

Which doctor should I contact?

A gastroenterologist can help you get rid of bad breath in adults, find the causes and choose treatment
Regarding bad breath in an adult, you should go to a gastroenterologist for a stomach examination. The doctor will find the cause and prescribe appropriate treatment, and give recommendations on how to get rid of bad breath. The main thing is that measures are taken by a person in advance. Ordinary gastritis quickly develops into more serious diseases.

Homemade recipes are quite effective, but you shouldn’t rely on them alone. Without getting rid of the main “fragrant” disease, all other remedies will only be a temporary disguise.

Videos: bad breath causes and treatment in adults. How to get rid of it.

How to get rid of bad breath. Causes and treatment in adults. A few simple methods:

Bad breath - causes and treatment:

Among all kinds of human shortcomings, imaginary or obvious, bad breath is not noticeable and invisible in photographs, but it not only interferes with communication, but can also indicate serious problems with the body. In some cases, the situation worsens so much that we are not just talking about questionable freshness of breath, but we have to admit that our breath really stinks. What to do about this problem, and what to pay attention to first?

Halitosis - bad breath

The medical name for this symptom is halitosis. In this case, the smell can be different: sour, sweetish or even putrid. Mild halitosis can appear from time to time even in a healthy person for completely natural reasons. For example, by morning a soft plaque accumulates on the teeth, gums and tongue, which has a specific smell.

There is a common misconception that people began to pay attention to bad breath under pressure from insidious dental corporations, but before that, everyone was indifferent to dubious odors. In fact, even in the last millennium, when praising loved ones, poets mentioned fresh and fragrant breath as one of the elements of beauty. It's hard to think about the sublime when your counterpart's breath stinks. What to do and in what order to solve problems? First, you should put aside panic and understand the possible reasons.

Why does my breath smell?

We must admit that the human body smells, and not at all like roses. What causes odors? The sense of smell perceives the molecules of various substances in the air, and the type of these substances determines how pleasant or unpleasant the aroma is to you. For example, the contents of the intestines smell unpleasant due to hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide and some other gases, which are waste products of bacteria inhabiting different parts of the digestive tract. The oral cavity is also home to microorganisms that are “responsible” for halitosis.

But if your breath really stinks, what should you do? Odor is a symptom that appears for any of these reasons:

dental problems;
diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
endocrine disorders (diabetes);
diseases of the ENT organs;
pulmonary problems (for example, bronchiectasis).

It is more difficult to get rid of halitosis if it manifests itself due to a combination of heterogeneous causes. Dental problems can occur in combination with stomach ulcers or other diseases of the digestive system.

Condition of the oral cavity

Dentists claim that they do not even guarantee the absence of bad breath. Many people simply brush their teeth poorly, do not reach the farthest corners, and a soft coating remains on the enamel, in which bacteria actively develop. The wisdom teeth and those adjacent to them suffer the most from this.

Over time, the soft plaque hardens and turns into tartar, which puts pressure on the gums, provoking an inflammatory process. When you have gum disease, your breath inevitably stinks. What to do? First of all, you need to remember that the absence of caries is not everything. It is necessary to brush your teeth thoroughly and regularly visit a dental hygienist to remove tartar.

Any inflammatory process in the oral cavity, sore gums, problem teeth - all this for the time being can proceed almost unnoticed, without critical pain. Halitosis, as the main symptom, is the first to indicate the presence of inflammation.

Gastrointestinal problems

If your breath smells suspiciously, the stomach may be the culprit. For example, if you eat garlic and then brush your teeth, it will still smell. Depending on the type of problem, an unpleasant odor may appear on an empty stomach, after certain types of food, only in the evenings or in the middle of the night.

If the problem is in the digestive system, what can you do to prevent your breath from stinking? You need to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist to conduct an examination and clarify the diagnosis. If the smell appears on an empty stomach, then it will be enough to eat something light and neutral - perhaps it is increased acidity.

Halitosis as a symptom

Bad breath itself is not a disease, but an expressive symptom that signals problems in the body. There are cases when it was halitosis that made it possible to make a timely diagnosis and recognize a serious disease before it turned into a serious condition. Difficulties begin due to attempts to quickly cure the symptom in order to get rid of awkwardness when communicating if your breath stinks very much. What to do in such a situation?

The most common reasons are, of course, dentistry, followed by the digestive system. Much less often, halitosis appears due to advanced sinusitis, and is possible as a concomitant symptom of diabetes and other diseases.

How to determine if there is a problem?

The most unpleasant feature of halitosis is that the person suffering from it does not always smell and is blissfully unaware of the suffering of those around him. It becomes difficult to communicate with him, especially if the interlocutor prefers to lean too close to his face. It’s even more difficult for subordinates if the boss’s breath stinks. What to do and how to check the freshness of your breath?

The simplest method is to lick your wrist and after a couple of minutes smell the skin. You can smell quite an unpleasant odor. As a control test, take a scraping of plaque from your tongue. Run a regular teaspoon across your tongue, preferably closer to your throat. The slightly dried coating has a characteristic smell, which is what the interlocutor feels during a confidential conversation. A similar test is carried out using unscented dental floss - just clean the spaces between your teeth and smell the floss. Finally, you can ask a direct question to a loved one, especially if he does not suffer from excessive delicacy and does not hush up problems.

Oral hygiene

Dental hygienists say that more than half of their patients have no idea how to brush their teeth. This is why the chain of transformation of soft plaque into tartar begins, caries appears, gums become inflamed, and the breath stinks in the morning. What to do with this, we are taught from childhood - we need to brush our teeth twice a day, morning and evening, and the movements of the brush should not only be left and right. The spaces between the teeth are better cleaned by “sweeping” movements from top to bottom, and the gums are massaged in a circular motion at the same time.

Soft plaque forms not only on the surface of the teeth, but also on the gums, on the tongue, and even on the inner surface of the cheeks. Of course, you shouldn’t “scrape” the inside of your mouth too vigorously, as this can injure soft tissues, accidentally cause an infection, and only provoke the development of inflammatory processes. After eating, just use dental floss and rinse your mouth; you don’t have to grab a toothbrush.

Ancient folk methods

All kinds of herbs, syrups, and lozenges were previously used to freshen breath. The folk remedies included violet flowers, mint, rosemary, clove oil, anise, cardamom, and extracts from berries and fruits. Pharmacists created proprietary formulas and kept the proportions of ingredients secret in order to attract buyers who wanted to add an exciting aroma to their breath. Nowadays it is enough to buy a pack of chewing gum to achieve the same effect. The only problem was the short duration of the aroma.

Even for a medieval beauty, the question of what to do if her breath constantly stinks did not become some kind of unknown mystery. Sick teeth were treated with varying success by all kinds of healers, and inflammatory processes were treated with decoctions and infusions of medicinal herbs. These recipes still work today.

You can rinse your mouth for medicinal purposes with an infusion of sage and chamomile. If your gums become inflamed and bleed, a decoction of oak bark, pine needles, and nettle helps.

Nutrition correction

If the smell appears after eating or on an empty stomach, then the culprit may be the diet. Diseases of the digestive system also require a special diet, so changes in diet will not only improve the condition of the stomach, but also eliminate the unpleasant odor. If your breath stinks very badly after eating, what should you do about your diet? To begin with, you should exclude all foods with extreme tastes: salty, spicy, sour, smoked. You should be careful with raw garlic and onions; the essential oils of these vegetables can aggravate the painful condition, and halitosis becomes a side effect.

You can switch to a healthy and gentle diet even without a doctor’s recommendation - you should replace your morning sandwich with smoked sausage with a plate of tender oatmeal, and observe how your stomach feels, and whether bad breath appears after such a breakfast. A visit to a gastroenterologist and a complete examination will help you make more reasonable adjustments to your diet.

Halitophobia

Commercial corporations have a somewhat different understanding of the postulate that everything in a person should be perfect, and they successfully manipulate the consciousness of the consumer. The natural color of teeth is not actually sparkling snow-white, and your breath does not necessarily smell like a bouquet of alpine herbs with a menthol note. The fear of not conforming to the replicated template can turn into a real phobia; a person thinks that his breath stinks of rot, what should I do? Fear appears, aggravated by panic attacks. A person suffering from halitophobia does his best to mask his breathing, brushes his teeth not only in the morning and evening, but also after meals, and in between meals continuously consumes chewing gum, flavored candies and lollipops.

Such a bouquet of chemistry sooner or later leads to the fact that instead of an apparent problem, a very real and real one appears. Phobias need to be fought, they do not go away on their own - on the contrary, the condition can worsen, and related fears appear. Fresh breath is great, but avoiding bad breath requires a reasonable amount of effort without being overzealous.

Bad breath is quite common. But in only one out of four cases does it manifest itself over a long period of time.

In most cases, this is the presence of a chronic disease in the human body.

An unpleasant odor may appear due to disturbances in the digestive organs.

In this case, a person develops an abundant accumulation of bacteria, which the body is not able to cope with in a timely manner.

In medicine, this disease has an official name - “halitosis”. But this disorder can be eliminated with systematic treatment.

The main thing is to determine the cause of this condition and take the necessary measures. If you only eliminate bad breath, there are consequences - it will help, but only temporarily.

How to determine the presence of an unpleasant odor

You can independently determine whether there is an unpleasant odor in only one case - by the reaction of people around you.

The problem is that the mouth and nose are connected to each other by a very thin septum - the upper soft palate.

In order to identify odors that are outside the body, the subconscious mind perceives only other odors. Most often, a person does not even suspect that there is an unpleasant odor from the mouth.

In this case, to determine whether you specifically have an unpleasant odor, you need to contact another person. Your loved one or the dentist you contact will be suitable.

You can also cup your palms and exhale sharply. The smell remains on your hands for several seconds.

Causes of bad breath

The reasons for the appearance of an unpleasant odor can be different: pathological and physiological.

In most cases, the cause of bad breath is a white substance that is found on the back of the tongue. This is where the bacteria are located.

Physiological reasons may be the following:

Very cruel diets and fasting.
Use of medications.
Having bad habits.
Failure to comply with natural hygiene rules.

In such cases, unpleasant odor can be eliminated easily and simply by changing your usual lifestyle.

For example, give up bad habits and strengthen hygiene procedures. For example, in Korea it is customary to brush your teeth after every meal.

But additional reasons may be hidden in the presence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, as well as the endocrine and bronchopulmonary systems.

The smell from your mouth can be varied. For example, acetone, rotten eggs, ammonia, sweet, sour, putrefactive, feces.

In this case, it is advisable to consult a doctor so that he can determine what causes this condition and manifestation. There are examples in which it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance.

How to independently determine the presence of an unpleasant odor?

This can be done only in one case. You need to lick your wrist and wait a few seconds until the saliva dries. Smell the area and you will be able to determine if you have bad breath.

To determine whether there is an odor from the base of the tongue, you need to take a teaspoon and rub this part of the tongue. Pay attention to the color of the plaque and the smell.

Food as a cause of unpleasant odor

What else could cause this problem? There are a number of products that have an unpleasant taste and aroma. For example, herring, garlic and onions.

When these products are processed, their components enter the bloodstream and are distributed throughout the body. Some of these molecules have a very unpleasant odor and enter the lungs along with the bloodstream.

They are removed from the lungs of the respiratory system and enter the oral cavity.

Eliminating this unpleasant symptom can be done easily and simply - to do this you need to exclude these dishes from your diet.

Can gum disease cause bad breath?

Gum diseases have a more professional name - periodontitis and periodontal disease. They can cause bad breath.

In most cases, it appears in the morning, before the person brushes his teeth. This condition can also occur after eating food. The dentist will be able to identify this condition very quickly.

An inflammatory process occurs in the gums in people over 35 years of age. It may be a consequence of the presence of caries.

Bacteria penetrate the gums and the inflammatory process begins. Gradually, this disease can lead to an inflammatory process in the jaw.

The inflammatory process in the gums causes the gums to gradually begin to recede, exposing the roots of the teeth. At an advanced stage, it may happen that a person bites off solid food and the teeth fall out.

Bad habits

People who smoke have a specific unpleasant odor. Because of what? Several factors influence this. For example, this is tar, nicotine, and other components.

They remain on soft tissues and teeth. Negative consequences can be eliminated using various hygiene products.

But a significant disadvantage of these drugs and medications is that the effects of saliva are weakened. It gets worse and worse at eliminating unnecessary bacteria.

People who smoke develop gum disease much faster.

Respiratory diseases and bad breath

Many people who suffer from diseases of the bronchopulmonary system and bad breath are interested in whether there is a connection between these diseases.

For example, when you have a runny nose or sinusitis, nasal discharge enters the oral cavity and can cause an unpleasant odor.

Also, with diseases of the nasopharynx, a person needs to breathe through the mouth. In this regard, dryness appears in the oral cavity, and this discomfort appears.

In addition, medications that are used to treat this disease can cause dryness and only worsen the situation.

Dentures

Despite the fact that a person eats food every day throughout his life, teeth are the only component in the body that is not prone to self-healing.

Therefore, sooner or later, to one degree or another, people are able to use prostheses. They can partially or completely replace teeth. But can they cause bad breath?

You can do a completely simple test at home. To do this, you need to remove the dentures and place them in a closed container.

Leave them for a few minutes. Then open the box and determine if they have a bad odor.

Bacteria can accumulate on teeth and tongue, as well as dentures. To eliminate this unpleasant condition, dentures must be cleaned in a timely manner.

Dry mouth as a cause of unpleasant odor

Even if a person does not have any particularly dangerous diseases for the body, he may notice bad breath in the morning.

This is due to the fact that his mouth dries out during the night. At this time of day, the body produces much less saliva.

This condition is also observed in people who talk a lot throughout the day. This disease has an official name - “xerostomia”.

Natural hydration is necessary for timely cleansing of the oral cavity from unnecessary bacteria. Saliva helps eliminate unnecessary bacteria and prevent their reappearance.

It also eliminates food particles that can cause new bacteria to appear.

Saliva can also be called a natural cleanser. It helps destroy bacteria. If the oral cavity dries out due to any disease, then the neutralization of the bacteria slows down.

Gum diseases, caries and even gastrointestinal disorders occur.

Additionally, xerostomia may occur due to medications. Why does this happen?

For example, these could be medications taken to treat allergies, to normalize blood pressure, drugs, tranquilizers, and antidepressants.

The older a person gets, the more prone they become to dry mouth.

They work at a much lower speed, and its quality also changes. At the same time, periodontal disease occurs, which further aggravates the condition of the gums.

The main reason for the appearance of unpleasant odor

The main cause of bad breath is diseases and disorders in the oral cavity. More precisely, the bacteria that are there are to blame for everything.

They, like any other microorganisms, feed and excrete waste. It is the waste that causes the unpleasant odor.

These compounds are easily eliminated and spread. There are several options for the formation of compounds that can cause this condition. For example, Skatol.

This is the main component of the smell of feces. Cadavrine is a substance that causes a cadaverous odor. And also Putrecin. It appears when meat products rot.

It is quite difficult to imagine the presence of these odors and compounds. But it all depends on their number.

A type of halitosis

There are cases when a person “invents” the presence of an unpleasant odor. First, it is necessary to determine whether a person actually has the disease.

In medicine, there are several types of halitosis:

Pseudohalitosis. Bad breath appears only with very close contact.
Halitophobia. This is a person’s obsessive thought that he has bad breath. In fact, there is no reason to worry at all.
True.

With pseudohalitosis, you just need to monitor the oral cavity in a timely manner, but with true, you need to take measures to eliminate the cause of this disorder.

Stool odor

If there is a smell of feces from the mouth, it is necessary to examine the intestines. Frequent constipation and intestinal obstruction are possible. This symptom can also be observed in the presence of anorexia.

In diseases of the bronchopulmonary system, such a smell is extremely rare.

Putrid odor from the mouth

Occurs when there are disorders in the oral cavity. It can appear due to caries, pathology of the salivary glands, untimely removal of plaque, stomatitis, and periodontal disease.

As well as diseases of the bronchopulmonary system: bronchitis, allergies, sore throat, sinusitis and pneumonia.

This may be a consequence of bad habits or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, gastritis with high acidity.

Smell of acetone

In most cases, it indicates the presence of acute and serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Kidney diseases. It is this organism that cleanses the body. With diseases such as kidney dystrophy, acute renal failure, an unpleasant odor appears.

Diabetes mellitus. This is a disease of the pancreas in which enough insulin is not released to break down food, particularly glucose.

Due to increased blood sugar levels, the number of ketone bodies may increase.

At the same time, the load on the kidneys increases. This organ of the excretory system cannot cope with removing sugar breakdown products from the blood and uses the lungs for this. Because of this, this symptom appears.

If you know that one of your loved ones has diabetes and you smell acetone from them, then urgent hospitalization is necessary. This may be a harbinger of diabetic coma.

Hyperthyroid crisis. If there are problems in the functioning of the thyroid gland, there may be complications of the disease, which has another name: crisis.

Additionally, muscle tremors, intense decrease in blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythm, sharp increase in body temperature, and vomiting occur. In this case, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance.

Rotten eggs

Occurs when the stomach stops working normally. This can occur with gastritis with high acidity, as well as poisoning with low-quality products.

Sweet

This aroma appears in people whose bodies have insufficient amounts of microelements and diabetes mellitus. Even after natural hygiene procedures, the smell appears very quickly.

This is because the cause of the disease has not been eliminated. In this case, complete restoration of the body is necessary.

Sour

Evidence for this “aroma” may appear in the presence of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

For example, with pancreatitis, gastritis with high acidity and heartburn with the appearance of nausea. Also, this symptom is the presence of a disease of the esophageal opening.

Which doctors should you contact?

In order to determine what disease caused these manifestations, you need to contact the following doctors:

Dentist.
Therapist.
Gastroenterologist.
Surgeon.

It all depends on what disease caused the unpleasant odor. In most cases, either a dentist or an ENT specialist can handle it.

But if the disease is more serious, then it is necessary to undergo a full examination of the whole body.

But if you only eliminate the consequences of the disease, then the cause will only intensify over time.

Prevention

Even if you do not experience this symptom, you need to pay attention to prevention.

It consists in the timely destruction of bacteria that are in the oral cavity and the prevention of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

It is necessary to visit your dentist regularly to determine the presence of oral diseases. He will additionally recommend how to properly brush not only your teeth, but also your mouth.

It is necessary to eliminate bacteria that are located in periodontal pockets - the space between the teeth. This is done using dental floss.

It is also necessary to clean the inner surface of the cheeks and tongue with a special brush. They also accumulate copious amounts of bacteria.

Most people ignore such manifestations, but this must be learned. Sometimes this is all it takes to eliminate bad breath.

It must be remembered that the front part of the tongue cleans itself throughout the day when the back part does not have such functions.

There are several options for deep tongue cleaning. At first, a gag reflex may occur, but over time it will decrease.

Sometimes tartar can interfere with the normal cleaning of tooth enamel. It is the doctor who can remove it in a timely manner.

If an inflammatory process occurs in the gums, the doctor can recommend the necessary treatment. Periodontal disease can gradually affect your dental health.

Principles of therapeutic therapy

Eliminating bad odor is a very important therapy for many people.

The most important thing is to determine the cause of this violation. Afterwards, it is necessary to take measures that will be aimed at eliminating the cause and defeating diseases in the oral cavity.

If you have sinusitis, you will need to pierce and rinse your sinuses.
For caries. Repair damaged teeth.
During the inflammatory process. Application of measures to eliminate the inflammatory process.

How to eliminate bad breath during the day

It is necessary to rinse the mouth thoroughly after each meal. This will help eliminate some of the pathogenic bacteria.

You can use not only water, but also special liquids. They can be purchased at the pharmacy.

Keep an eye on your mouth, especially after eating protein foods. It is the bacteria contained in meat that can cause this unpleasant symptom.

You need to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Sometimes bad breath can be a signal of sludge in the body due to insufficient water.

In children, this disease occurs in the presence of dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract.

Useful video

Yulia Klouda, head of the expert magazine about dentistry Startsmile.ru, is ready to tear the covers off ten unobvious reasons for the killer odor from the mouth.

All diseases are from nerves

Halitosis (as doctors call miasma from the mouth) never occurs on its own. But before we move on to intimidation by listing all those diseases that cause halitosis, let's pay attention to the cause, which is almost always forgotten. And this reason is the most ordinary, banal stress. Especially protracted. When your boss at work constantly yells good and not only obscene language, your personal life is not going well, and to top it off, the last train leaves from under your nose, then they come into play: cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine. These three bandits are stress hormones that provoke the accelerated growth of all kinds of pathogenic microflora in the mouth. Under the influence of this trinity, she diligently releases volatile and extremely smelly substances that your interlocutors are forced to smell.

Language barrier

President of the International Dental Association (IDA), expert on Oral-B and Blend-a-Med

Popular

The condition of the tongue plays a huge role - the freshness of the breath of each of us depends on its hygiene. The surface of the tongue is capable of accumulating plaque during the day and at night, and it definitely needs to be removed. Indeed, in addition to the unpleasant odor that can be caused by plaque on the tongue, it can cause the development of caries. Thus, microbes that populate the surface of the tongue can move to the walls of the teeth, creating favorable conditions for the development of caries and its complications. Agree, it’s quite disappointing to find out that, despite thoroughly cleaning your teeth, you still risk becoming a dentist’s patient because you ignore cleaning your tongue?

Consequently, the tongue of both adults and children needs daily cleaning no less than teeth. Ideally, the back of the tongue should be cleaned as often as the teeth, that is, 2 times a day (morning and evening). It should be noted that morning tongue cleaning should be mandatory. Today, there are all kinds of devices for getting rid of plaque - for example, scrapers and brushes. But the most modern way of high-quality and, importantly, pleasant tongue cleaning is the Oral-B electric brush with a tongue cleaning function. Thanks to this option, the bristles carefully loosen and sweep away plaque from the surface of the tongue, providing light massage movements. This way, you don't have to purchase additional oral care products to fill your bathroom shelves - all you have to do is change the mode on your electric toothbrush!

Sugar in the mouth

Another reason for heavy stench from the mouth is lack of water. Oh, it’s not for nothing that doctors advise drinking at least two liters of water a day! If you drink little (water, not cheerful and invigorating drinks with a high degree), then the body secretes too little saliva. Lack of hydration causes the death of tongue cells, which the same pathogenic bacteria actively and joyfully feed on.

Snoring and stuffy nose

Sudden but permanent stuffy nose and snoring are also causes of bad breath. Unfair, but true. When the mouth is open constantly or for very long periods of time, it leads to dryness. And dryness, as we have already found out, is the dream of all pathogenic bacteria, young and old. When there is little saliva due to dryness, they begin to multiply their ranks and secrete sulfur compounds, which cause bad breath. Therefore, be vigilant: treat runny nose and allergies in a timely manner.

Diets are evil!

Are you skipping breakfast for your waistline? Are you skipping lunch to lower the number on the scale? Are you practicing a protein diet or, even worse, a mono-diet?! Receive thermonuclear halitosis as a reward for your efforts! The thing is that our body perceives any hunger strike as a signal of distress and immediately begins to take measures: burn all fat reserves. Not only is this harmful, but it also provokes the formation of ketones, which, in turn, lead to bad breath.

The stomach is always there...

Sour breath is a sure sign that you have stomach problems. If the smell is also accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea or belching, it is likely that gastritis or a stomach ulcer is somewhere nearby. Sour breath accompanies diseases associated with low acidity, and what advanced dysbacteriosis smells like is best not mentioned in polite society.

Nose and throat - always together

For example, plugs in the tonsils. They accumulate a strategic supply of food debris for bacteria. In addition, many diseases of the nasopharyngeal mucosa are accompanied by the formation of pus, and this also does not improve the aroma from the mouth, but quite the opposite. To the surprise of many ENT patients, once they undergo a successful course of treatment, their breath becomes fresher before their eyes.

Kidneys, lungs and diabetes

Pulmonary diseases also often come not alone, but together with halitosis. But it’s not just the lungs that signal us with amber: a bitter odor from the mouth hints at problems with the kidneys, and the persistent aroma of acetone hints at the threat of diabetes. The last enemy is the most dangerous, and, of course, not only because of the smell. Nevertheless, an unpleasant odor can literally help in treatment if you pay attention to the alarming symptom in time.

Smelly dentures

Of course, everyone knows (or at least vaguely understands) that poor hygiene and oral diseases provoke a powerful amber. But even after you have cured everything, you cannot let your guard down! Dentures, especially bridges, require careful daily care: arm yourself with irrigators, brushes, dental floss and fight plaque mercilessly. Otherwise, not only a nasty smell will penetrate your life, but also new gum diseases, again caused by insufficient hygiene.

Earrings in unexpected places

Piercing - oh, how much sound there is in this!.. But having a tongue piercing is not only fashionable, stylish and shocking. It's also harmful. Wounds in the oral cavity cause fungal infections, which immediately begin to actively multiply. Fungal infection results in a white, yellowish or creamy coating on the tongue, burning sensation, increased sensitivity to spicy and sour foods and, of course, bad breath. So before you pierce your tongue, think about whether the game is worth the candle.