Why does my breath smell rotten? Halitosis as a symptom of serious diseases - be attentive to yourself! Bad breath

When your breath smells rotten, no amount of expensive clothing or cosmetics will help to shift the attention of your interlocutor. This problem is called halitosis, it seriously interferes with normal communications, leading to psychological discomfort, complexities.

Putrid breath odor is a common phenomenon in medical practice. Everyone faces it - children, women, men. Many people mistakenly believe that the reason is insufficient hygiene, however, the true causes of persistent foul odors from oral cavity are much deeper.

Why does he appear? According to medical statistics, in 90% of cases the cause of putrid odor from the mouth is dental problems. The remaining percentage is due to deviations in the digestive organs and some other factors.

The main reasons why rotten or rotting breath occurs:

dental problems - the presence of periodontitis, periodontal disease, stomatitis, carious lesions, oral dysbacteriosis, tartar and deposits, poor hygiene. In addition, a rotten smell is provoked by dentures, difficult eruption of wisdom teeth, and pathologies of the salivary glands;
organ disorders digestive system. Rotten odors published against the background of gastritis, colitis, enteritis, pathologies of the esophagus, diseases gallbladder, liver, pancreas, helminthic invasions;
disorders in the respiratory system - with tuberculosis, lung abscess, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, rhinitis, bronchitis;
nicotine or alcohol addiction;
dangerous eating disorders in people suffering from bulimia, anorexia. Systematic adherence to unbalanced diets, regular overeating, especially before bedtime - in such a group of people, it may not be just a putrid smell, but a heavy smell of feces;
harmless reasons not related to diseases are the consumption of onions, garlic, hard cheeses and other "fragrant" products;

Many female representatives have repeatedly noticed how during menstruation the freshness of their breath changes, far from for the better. IN in this case there is no need to talk about pathological causes, since the condition is caused by a change hormonal levels. Everything is back to normal after the end of the month.

Digestive system

Often, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and foul odor from the mouth are related concepts, since the digestion processes occur with disturbances, which is why food can remain in the stomach for a long time, rot or ferment there. If proteins and fats are poorly digested, then this indicates problems with the intestines, which is the source of a putrid odor, because undigested food residues stagnate in it.

A clear sign of problems with the tract is frequent belching with “rotten eggs,” vomiting, flatulence, nausea, and heaviness in the abdomen. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to see a gastroenterologist to undergo full examination.

Anna Losyakova
Dentist-orthodontist
If deviations are identified, it will not be possible to remove the bad odor from the mouth until the underlying disease is cured.
Respiratory system

When pathologies affect the ENT organs, bad breath is caused by the course of purulent processes directly next to the oral cavity, which causes an olfactory association with purulent wound on the body. If a person is sick with sinusitis or sinusitis, then physiologically it is more convenient for him to breathe through the mouth, which leads to drying out of the mucous membrane.
The unfavorable chain is continued by a natural reaction - the disinfectant properties of saliva are significantly reduced, which is why bacteria multiply intensively. It is they who become the causative culprits of foul-smelling gases that are released during life and during the process of decomposition when they die.
In diseases of the respiratory system, the bronchi and lungs are inflamed. This is followed by tissue decomposition, which is accompanied by the elimination of a putrid stench through the oral cavity.
Dental diseases

Periodontal diseases are a clear source of specific and extremely unpleasant odors that are felt by others, and the person himself can become so accustomed to them that he does not even notice the problem. In this case, it will not be the diseased teeth or gums that stink, but the same ill-fated bacteria that thrive in carious lesions, provoking inflammatory processes and other complications, including purulent ones.
The stronger the lesion, the more distinct the smell from the mouth.
Inflamed tissues tend to die and decompose, respectively, this action is accompanied by the smell of rotting.
If violated normal operation salivary glands, then a bad odor will certainly appear as primary symptom. Thanks to saliva, the cavity can clean itself, but when the glands produce little saliva, dryness forms in the mouth. Such conditions contribute to the development of bacterial flora, which releases hydrogen sulfide.
A putrid odor can be encountered not only against the background of pathologies, but also after waking up, since at night the salivary glands physiologically slow down activity.
Sometimes breathing becomes unpleasant due to a long course of drug therapy. The drugs negatively affect the production of saliva, which leads to the above situation.
The work of the salivary glands can be negatively affected by the intake of antihistamines, sedatives, diuretics. In this case, it is not necessary to immediately go to the doctor. You can wait until the smell of rotten breath goes away after the end of therapy.
Diagnostics
Having considered the most typical reasons putrid odors, the first step is to consult with a dentist and gastroenterologist.
As for the examination of the gastrointestinal tract, in addition to collecting anamnesis, the doctor may prescribe additional techniques instrumental research to make an accurate diagnosis:
radioisotope diagnostics;
radiography;
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity;
irrigoscopy;
gastroscopy;
radiography.

You will also need to submit various tests: blood for general and biochemical analysis, feces for coprogram, gastric contents and others. The causes and treatment of odor are highly interrelated.
How to remove the smell
High-quality treatment is only possible when the primary causes are eliminated. The simplest and surest step to removing unpleasant aroma, there will be a visit to the dentist, most often this method eliminates persistent unpleasant odors.
The doctor will:
professional, after which the teeth will be freed from supragingival and subgingival deposits that exude stench;
sanitation – will cure carious teeth, change fillings, if necessary, replace incorrectly installed dentures, treat periodontal inflammatory processes;
will adjust therapeutic methods decreased salivation;
will teach the rules of good hygiene.

After the procedures, you should monitor the freshness of your breath, and to make sure there is no or no smell of rot, you can ask your loved ones about it.
If a complete examination of the body has been carried out, treatment is prescribed by an appropriate specialist.
As the underlying disease is treated, the patient will make his breathing much more pleasant by comprehensively following effective recommendations:
Considering that chewing gum and caramel candies do not have the best effect on the condition of teeth, you can, as an alternative, resort to natural remedies, temporarily freshens breath - chew fresh mint, parsley, ginger, eat citrus fruit or an apple. The video below contains many recommendations:
Infusions with lemon balm, sage, thyme, and chamomile have a good antibacterial and refreshing effect. For a glass of boiling water you need to take 1 tbsp. medicinal plant, let it sit for 15–20 minutes, and then use it as a rinse.

Unpleasant smell from the mouth is a very common occurrence among us. The reason for this is various diseases of the digestive system.

Bad breath is also a problem when communicating with other people. Modern medicine calls this condition when a person’s breath smells extremely unpleasant - halitosis. In Latin - Halitoz.

In fact, halitosis cannot be called an independent disease; rather, it is a sign of pathological processes occurring in the body. In the absence of proper oral care, the bad odor intensifies, causing discomfort not only to the patient, but also to others.

In this article we will look at why bad breath occurs in adults, what are the main causes of this symptom, and how to get rid of it at home.

How to check if your breath smells?

Many people who have unpleasant, repulsive breath are not even aware of it. existing problem. It’s good if a loved one or friend points it out. But this is not always possible, relatives are afraid of offending their loved one, and colleagues prefer to reduce communication with him to a minimum. But the problem remains.

There are several ways to test yourself:

Wrist test. Here it will be enough to lick your wrist and let the saliva dry. The smell you will smell after a few seconds is the smell of the front of your tongue. As a rule, it is much weaker than what it really is, because the front part of the tongue is cleaned by our saliva, which contains antibacterial components, while the back part of the tongue, in turn, is a breeding ground for unpleasant odors.
You can also try breathe into your palm and instantly smell what you exhale. Or try to stick it out lower lip, pushing your jaw forward a little, roll your upper jaw inward and exhale sharply through your mouth, then smell what you exhaled.
Spoon test. Take a teaspoon, turn it over and run it over the surface of your tongue several times. There will be a little left on the spoon white plaque or saliva. The smell coming from them is the smell of your breath.

TO additional features may include the formation of plaque on the tongue, inflammation of the mucous membrane, sensation bad taste in the mouth. These symptoms do not directly indicate halitosis and may vary depending on the cause of the disease and the presence of complicating factors.

Causes of bad breath

The causes of halitosis can vary significantly, but before you look for them, you need to make sure that this smell really exists. Modern doctors There are several types of halitosis:

True halitosis, in which unpleasant breathing is objectively noticed by people around. The reasons for its occurrence may be related to physiological characteristics, insufficient oral hygiene, metabolic processes in the body or be symptoms of certain diseases.
Pseudohalitosis is a subtle unpleasant breath that can be felt upon close contact with a person. Usually in such a situation the patient exaggerates the problem and it can be solved quite simply by increasing oral hygiene.
Halitophobia is a person’s belief that his breath smells, however, this is not confirmed by either the dentist or the people around him.

Also according to statistics:

80% of the causes of bad breath are related to problems in the oral cavity.
10% with ENT diseases.
only 5-10% with serious diseases of internal organs and systems - liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system, hormonal imbalances, metabolic disorders, autoimmune and cancer diseases.

The most basic thing to understand is that the main cause of the unpleasant odor coming from a person’s mouth is the activity of anaerobic bacteria (that is, bacteria that grow and multiply without access to oxygen). Their waste products are volatile sulfur compounds and are those very smelly gases that smell very unpleasant and lead to bad breath in humans.

Why does bad breath occur?

But there are many reasons that lead to the proliferation of these bacteria. We will analyze them in detail:

Poor oral hygiene. Most often, putrid breath is associated with poor oral hygiene, for example, when a person does not use dental floss to clean the interdental spaces from food debris. Surely many of you have felt the stinky breath of co-workers who had a snack at work but did not brush their teeth.
Gum diseases(and periodontitis). The cause of these ailments is poor oral hygiene, soft microbial plaque and hard tartar. When the amount of toxins secreted by plaque and tartar microorganisms exceeds the capabilities of the local immunity of the oral cavity, inflammation develops in the gums.
. Carious dental defects are filled with a huge amount of pathogenic microflora and there are always food residues left in them. This food and tooth tissue quickly begin to rot and as a result, your breath smells bad. If you want to eliminate bad breath, first of all you need to treat your bad teeth.
Tartar development– dental plaque, which seeps in mineral salts (calcium salts) with its hardening and the development of chronic infection in it. More often, tartar is the result of gum pathology (gum pockets), which do not tightly cover the necks of the teeth and the spaces between their lateral edges.
Digestive system diseases( , ). In this case this problem caused by a pathology of non-closure of the esophageal sphincter, when odors from the stomach penetrate directly through the esophagus into the oral cavity.
. Those who suffer from chronic inflammation of the tonsils also have bad breath. If you have a weak immune system or there is a lot of infection in the oral cavity, then in this case periodic inflammation of the tonsils can develop into a sluggish chronic form inflammation. People who suffer from this form of inflammation of the tonsils often complain of horrible smell from mouth.
- an inflammatory disease that is accompanied by the formation of ulcers on the oral mucosa. Ulcers and thick white plaque are the source of halitosis.
- an inflammatory process in the membrane of the tongue, which can occur together with gingivitis or stomatitis.
Intestinal pathology(enteritis and). As a result of inflammatory processes in the intestines, toxic substances penetrate into the blood, which the body removes, including through the lungs, as a result of which bad breath appears.
Another common cause of halitosis is dry mouth: saliva does not moisturize or clean the mouth by washing away plaque and dead cells. Thus, the cells found on the gums, inner cheeks and tongue decompose, causing halitosis. Dry mouth can be caused by drinking alcohol, certain medications, pathologies of the salivary glands, etc.
Medications: Many medications, including antihistamines and diuretics, can cause dry mouth, which can cause bad breath. Such odor and treatment are often interrelated - a number of medications can lead to bad odor (insulin, triamterene, paraldehyde and many others).
Quite often the reason bad smell from the mouth are some products. Of course, onions and garlic are rightfully considered record holders here. However, after noisy feasts with big amount Meat and fatty foods can also cause bad breath. True, it goes away pretty quickly.
Tobacco products: Smoking and chewing tobacco leaves chemicals that linger in the mouth. Smoking can also accelerate other causes of bad breath, such as gum disease or oral cancer.

Whatever various reasons did not cause bad breath, the source of all problems is bacteria. They are always in our oral cavity, creating a certain microflora there. Any living organism, and bacteria are no exception, when feeding, produces waste products, which are volatile sulfur compounds. It is these foul-smelling sulfurous volatile compounds that we smell from our mouths.

Experts believe that one of the most obvious reasons for its appearance is white matter, accumulating on the back of the tongue. It occurs when a person brushes their teeth incorrectly, leaving their tongue unattended.

How to treat bad breath

In case of bad breath, treatment is a separate topic for discussion, but what can be done to prevent it from appearing is important to know even for those who do not suffer similar problem. After all, bad breath, if it appears, cannot be masked with mint candy.

As noted above, food particles remaining after eating are soil for the growth of bacteria. That is why a lot depends on oral hygiene. It is recommended to take care that after eating food there are no pieces of food left in the mouth, which, among other things, contribute to the formation of plaque and tartar. This requires:

Brush your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush three times a day to remove food particles remaining in the mouth and stuck in the teeth;
clean the interdental spaces with dental floss;
clean the back of the tongue daily with a soft-bristled brush;
to stimulate salivation, regularly eat fresh fruits and vegetables and adhere to a diet;
to eliminate xerostomia (dry mouth), rinse your mouth with warm water;
visit the dentist regularly.

At home, rinsing can help get rid of bad breath. vegetable oil. To do this, take a small portion of oil into your mouth and hold it there for 10-15 minutes. The oil has good property dissolve all rotting products. Then spit and rinse your mouth thoroughly. You can't swallow this oil! If the procedure is carried out correctly, the oil should become cloudy.

Infusions of herbs such as peppermint, string, caraway, and wormwood have the ability to remove unpleasant odors. To clean the pockets in the gums, it is good to rinse after meals with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, diluted 1:1 with water. Peroxide will clean even the deepest pockets well and eliminate the problem.

In addition to this, there is a large number of modern means quick relief from bad breath: aerosol fresheners, chewing gum, lollipops, etc. They are characterized by both rapid efficiency and low stability due to their short duration of action.

Which doctor should I contact?

If you experience bad breath, you should contact your dentist and go through professional cleaning teeth, cure diseases of teeth, gums, get rid of tartar.

If there is no effect, you should consult a gastroenterologist, as well as more rare cases- see an ENT doctor (for sinusitis or chronic rhinitis), a pulmonologist (for bronchiectasis), an endocrinologist (for diabetes).

The problem of bad breath is quite common and reaches 80-90% of the adult population, but only in 25% of cases is bad breath persistent and its cause is the presence of chronic pathological process in the human body. Bad breath is usually caused by diseases of the digestive organs (stomach, liver, intestines, teeth and oral cavity). In most cases, it occurs due to the accumulation in a person’s mouth - on the tongue, around the teeth and between the teeth - of a large number of anaerobic bacteria.

This condition is also known as “halitosis” or “halitosis”, “ozostomia”, “stomatodysody”. The problem of bad breath is by no means insoluble. Methods for its treatment are usually very simple and effective - you just need to correctly recognize the main cause of the unpleasant odor.

Do you have bad breath?

Of course, under certain circumstances, each of us may experience bad breath, and we ourselves can often find out about this only by the reaction of the people around us. Determining whether you have bad breath can often be difficult, primarily because the mouth, the source of all these odors, is connected to the nose through an opening at the back of the mouth, in the area of the soft palate. And since the nose “filters” odors that arise in the back of the mouth, it also filters this most unpleasant odor. That is, it is quite possible that you have this bad breath - but you yourself don’t know about it.

If even our own noses can't help us determine with certainty what our breath smells like, can we still know? One way is to get an opinion on this matter from one of your closest relatives. You can also make the same request to a close friend, or to your dentist during your next visit to him. If this question seems too personal to you and you are afraid to “entrust” it to adults, do not be embarrassed and ask your children about it. As we well know, it is through their mouths that the truth often speaks.

Is it possible to independently determine how your breath smells?

Such methods are also known. For example, lick your wrist, let the saliva dry for about five seconds, and then smell the area. So how? That's pretty much what you smell like. Or, to be precise, this is what the front of your tongue smells like.

Now try to figure out what the back of your tongue smells like. Take a spoon, turn it over, and scrape the farthest part of your tongue with it. (Don't be surprised if you start choking when you do this.) Look at the stuff you've scraped off your tongue on the spoon - it's usually thick and whitish. Now smell it. This is the smell of your breath (as opposed to the smell of the front of the tongue) that others are most likely to smell.

The main cause of unpleasant odor

Now you know that in most cases, the source of bad breath is the white matter that covers the back of the tongue. Or, to be more precise, the bacteria that live in this white substance.

There is another, also very common cause of bad breath - these are bacteria that accumulate in other areas of the mouth.

What conditions or circumstances can cause or increase an unpleasant odor? Many of these factors are somehow related to:

Oral bacteria.
- Conditions that stimulate the growth of these bacteria.
- Poor cleaning of areas where bacteria accumulate.

Can food cause an unpleasant odor?

Certain foods have a long history of causing bad breath, such as onions and garlic. When food is digested, its constituent molecules are absorbed by our body and then removed from it by the blood stream.

Some of these molecules, which have very characteristic and unpleasant odors, enter our lungs with the blood stream. They are removed from the lungs when you exhale - hence the unpleasant odor. Although this kind of bad smell is a rather annoying problem, we will not discuss it in detail in these pages. The unpleasant smell caused by the use of certain foods usually disappears by itself in a day or two - as soon as the body removes all the "bad-smelling" molecules. And getting rid of such a smell is quite simple - you just need to exclude such foods from your diet or reduce their consumption to a minimum.

Does smoking cause bad odor?

You've probably met people who smoke heavily and whose breath has a specific smell. Although many factors influence the formation of unpleasant odors associated with smoking, the main ones are nicotine, tar and other foul-smelling substances contained in tobacco smoke. These substances accumulate on the teeth and soft tissues of a smoker's mouth - gums, cheek tissue, tongue. And let's make a reservation again - we will not discuss this type of unpleasant odor in detail on these pages either. The only way to completely get rid of this odor is to quit smoking (although if you improve your oral hygiene, this odor can be reduced somewhat). Note also that smoking itself dehydrates the tissues of the mouth. This weakens the moisturizing and disinfecting effect of saliva, which washes away bacteria and their metabolic products. Dry mouth is discussed in more detail below. It is known that smoking people Problems associated with periodontal disease (“gum disease”) are more common.

Periodontal diseases also occur due to bacterial activity. Gum disease and its connection to bad odor is discussed in more detail below.

Does xerostomia (dry mouth) contribute to bad breath?

Even if you don’t have any particular problems with unpleasant odor, you’ve probably noticed that in the morning when you just woke up, your breath is much less fresh. This happens because our mouth “dries out” at night - because during sleep our body produces less saliva. The result of this drying out is “morning breath”. A similar “drying effect” is often noticed by, for example, teachers or lawyers who have to talk for several hours - this also causes their mouths to dry out. Some people suffer from chronic dry mouth, a condition called xerostomia. It is even more difficult for them to solve problems with fresh breath. Moisture in our mouths helps cleanse. We constantly swallow saliva - and with each swallow, millions of bacteria are washed out of our mouth, as well as the food particles that these bacteria feed on. In addition, saliva dissolves and washes away the waste products of bacteria living in the mouth.

Saliva is a special form of liquid that moisturizes the mouth, a kind of natural cleanser for the mouth. Any moisture can have a cleansing and dissolving effect; saliva, in addition, contains special components that kill bacteria and neutralize their waste products. When your mouth is dry beneficial effect saliva is greatly reduced. Neutralization of bacteria slows down and conditions for their growth improve.

Chronic dry mouth - xerostomia - may also be side effect from taking certain medications. Xerostomia can be caused by antihistamines (allergy and cold medications), antidepressants, medications that regulate blood pressure, diuretics, tranquilizers, narcotic substances. Dry mouth can get worse as you age. Over time, our salivary glands stop working with the same efficiency, and the composition of saliva also changes. This leads to the fact that the cleansing properties of saliva weaken. People who suffer from xerostomia for a long time are more likely to develop periodontal disease (gum disease). Gum disease can also cause bad breath.

Can periodontal disease cause bad odor?

Periodontal disease, commonly referred to simply as “gum disease,” can also cause bad breath. Ask any dentist - the smell of gum disease is very specific, and an experienced doctor can determine the presence of such a disease even before examining the patient.

Oral diseases are the second most common cause of bad breath (the first, as you remember, is the accumulation of bacteria).

More often they occur in people over 35 years of age, that is, than older man, the more likely it is that problems with fresh breath are caused by the condition of his gums. Periodontal disease - bacterial infection soft tissues surrounding the teeth. If such a disease is neglected, it can lead to serious damage to the bone into which our teeth are “inserted.” Often, as this disease progresses, gaps (dentists call them “periodontal pockets”) form between the teeth and gums, where large amounts of bacteria accumulate. These pockets can be so deep that they are difficult to clean properly; bacteria and their metabolic products that accumulate in them also cause an unpleasant odor.

Can a respiratory disease cause an unpleasant odor?

Of course it can. Diseases of the upper respiratory tract, allergies - all these diseases lead to the fact that mucous secretions begin to flow from the nasal cavity into the oral cavity, through the opening in the soft palate. The accumulation of these secretions in the mouth can also cause an unpleasant odor.

People with sinus disease often have a stuffy nose, forcing them to breathe through their mouth. Breathing through the mouth causes it to dry out, which, as we already know, also causes an unpleasant odor. For sinus disease, antihistamines (anti-allergic) medications are often taken, which also contribute to dry mouth.

What dental diseases can cause an unpleasant odor?

In most cases, the occurrence of unpleasant odor in the mouth is associated with various diseases directly to the oral cavity. Any active infection in the mouth, such as an abscessed tooth or partially erupted wisdom tooth, can cause an unpleasant odor. Extensive, untreated cavities on teeth can accumulate large amounts of bacteria and food debris, which also cause an unpleasant odor. if you have similar diseases, during the examination, your dentist will definitely identify them and offer effective methods treatment.

Can other untreated diseases cause bad odor?

Some diseases of the internal organs can also cause an unpleasant odor. If the patient has tried all the usual methods for eliminating an unpleasant odor in such cases, but they have led nowhere, then a visit to a therapist will not hurt. Your doctor, of course, knows which diseases are most likely in your case; but, for general information, bad breath can occur with diseases of the respiratory tract, liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Can dentures cause bad odor?

Dentures (full, partial, removable, etc.) can have a significant impact on the freshness of your breath. If you wear any dentures, there is a simple test you can do to see if your dentures are causing bad odor:

Remove your dentures and place them in a closed container, such as a plastic lunch box. Close it tightly and leave it like that for five minutes. Then open it sharply and immediately smell it. This is roughly what the people you talk to smell like from your mouth.

Although most cases of bad breath are caused by the buildup of bacteria on the tongue, on or around the teeth (periodontal disease), bacteria can also accumulate on the surface of dentures and cause bad breath.

What is actually the main cause of unpleasant odor?

In most cases, the occurrence of bad breath is associated with the condition of the oral cavity. Namely, an unpleasant odor is usually caused by bacteria living in it. Bacteria, like humans, consume food and excrete waste throughout their lives. The waste products of some types of bacteria are sulfur compounds, and they are the cause of the unpleasant odor. Remember what a rotten egg smells like? This smell is also caused by the formation of a sulfur compound in the egg - hydrogen sulfide. The characteristic smell of compost heaps or barnyards also owes its “fragrance” to the presence of a sulfur compound - methyl mercaptan. And both of these compounds are released by bacteria that live in our mouths. These substances have common name"volatile sulfur compounds" (VSC). The term "volatile" means that these substances evaporate quickly, even at normal temperatures. The “volatility” of these compounds explains their ability to quickly penetrate, so to speak, into the noses of the people around us. Although these substances mainly create bad breath, bacteria. living in the oral cavity, they also secrete other products that have a very unpleasant aroma. Here are some of them:

Cadavrine is a substance that produces a characteristic cadaverous odor.
- Putrescine - forms a stench when meat rots.
- Skatole is the main component of the odor of human feces.

You will probably be quite surprised to learn that in an ordinary human mouth there can be such a “bouquet” of unpleasant odors - but this is so, and, unfortunately, there are no exceptions. Every person, to one degree or another, has these, so to speak, aromas in his breath. Fortunately, the human sense of smell does not detect these odors if their concentration in the breath is low. Only when it rises does that characteristic unpleasant odor form.

What types of bacteria cause bad odor?

Most of the chemical compounds that cause an unpleasant odor (hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, cadavrine, putrescine, skatole) are secreted by anaerobic bacteria (their more accurate name is gram-negative anaerobes). The term "anaerobic" means that they live and reproduce best in places where there is no oxygen. In our mouths, there is a constant struggle for living space between bacteria that produce products that create an unpleasant odor, and other bacteria that do not. The freshness of our breath is determined, strictly speaking, by the degree of balance in the presence of both bacteria. Accumulation of plaque (the white film that forms on the tongue and teeth - at the gum line and below) can tip this balance in favor of odor-producing bacteria. Imagine - a layer of plaque only one or two tenths of a millimeter thick (that is, approximately banknote) no longer contains oxygen at all - that is, best place cannot be found for bacteria. Therefore, as plaque accumulates, it is inhabited by more and more bacteria that create an unpleasant odor - which means that each of our exhalations contains more and more compounds released by these bacteria.

What do anaerobic bacteria that produce an unpleasant odor feed on?

Most of the foul-smelling substances that cause bad breath are released by bacteria after consuming protein. That is, when we eat foods such as meat or fish, the bacteria living in our mouth also receive their share of food. And what they secrete after eating are those same compounds. which cause an unpleasant odor. Anaerobic bacteria will find proteins - their favorite food - in anything, even the cheeseburger you eat. In addition, in our mouths there is always “natural” protein food for them - for example, dead skin cells, or numerous protein components contained in saliva. If you do not regularly use a toothbrush and floss, a real feast for bacteria will form in your mouth - leftover food from today's breakfast, yesterday's dinner, the day before yesterday's lunch...

Which foods contain the most protein?

Meat, fish and seafood, eggs, dairy products (milk, cheeses and yoghurts) - all these products contain a lot of protein. Most people get about two-thirds of their protein needs from them. Other sources of protein are cereals and products made from them, nuts, leguminous plants (peas, beans and lentils). The ingredients found in many of our favorite desserts (like cakes and pies) make these delicious foods protein pantries.

Where do the bacteria that cause bad odor live?

In most cases, these bacteria accumulate on the tongue, but they have many other “habitats”.

Language

Remember the "experiment" we recommended you do at the beginning of this section. Although the odor produced in the front area of our tongue may not be the most pleasant, it is usually not the main source of problems with fresh breath. The main “component” of the unpleasant odor is formed in the back of the tongue. Go to the mirror, stick out your tongue and look at it carefully. You will probably see a whitish coating on its surface. Closer to the back of the tongue, this coating becomes denser. The number of bacteria accumulating on human language, depends on the texture of its surface. People whose tongue surface has more folds, grooves and indentations will have more of this amount than people with a smoother tongue surface. In order to create a favorable environment for the life of bacteria in the white layer of the tongue - i.e. deprived of oxygen - this layer can have a thickness of only one or two tenths of a millimeter. This “oxygen-free” environment is also called “anaerobic”; This is where bacteria live and multiply best. Studies have shown that the number of bacteria on the human tongue directly depends on the thickness of the white layer covering it. And as you can guess, the freshness of your breath depends on the number of bacteria: the fewer there are, the fresher it is.

Periodontal sources

Bacteria that cause an unpleasant odor also feel quite comfortable in areas of the oral cavity other than the tongue. Perhaps you have noticed that while flossing your teeth, an unpleasant odor sometimes also appears. And perhaps this smell becomes more noticeable when you start brushing between your back teeth. In the spaces between the teeth, bacteria that create an unpleasant odor also find refuge. Dentists call these areas “periodontal” (“paro” means “about” and “dont” means “tooth”). Even in a more or less healthy mouth, bacteria can find an oxygen-deprived (anaerobic) environment - for example, under the gum line, around and between teeth. And in people suffering from periodontal disease (“gum disease”), the number of such anaerobic “corners” increases many times over. Periodontal disease often damages the bone that surrounds the teeth. This, in turn, leads to the formation of depressions between the teeth and gums (dentists call them “periodontal pockets”). These pockets are usually very difficult or impossible to clean, and they become an ideal anaerobic environment in which odor-causing bacteria live and thrive.

How to get rid of an unpleasant odor?

Since the main source of bad breath is foul-smelling bacterial secretions (volatile sulfur compounds), the main way to get rid of them is to cleanse the oral cavity in such a way as to:

Deprive bacteria of nutrients.
- Reduce the amount of bacteria already accumulated in the mouth.
- Reduce the anaerobic environment in which bacteria live and multiply.
- Prevent the formation of new breeding grounds for bacteria.

You can also use cleaners that reduce the activity of odor-causing volatile sulfur compounds.

How to deprive bacteria of nutrients?

As you remember, the main source of bad breath is the foul-smelling waste bacteria produce when digesting proteins. Therefore, people who eat a vegetarian diet (consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables) are less likely to have problems with fresh breath than those who consume a lot of protein foods, such as meat. In addition, it is very important to clean the oral cavity in a timely and correct manner - especially after eating, rich in proteins. After finishing breakfast, lunch or dinner, they remain in our mouths. tiny particles food that gets stuck between the teeth and also settles in a white coating on the back of the tongue. And since it is in these places that anaerobic bacteria accumulate, causing an unpleasant odor, then, without properly cleaning your mouth after eating, you will thereby provide them with a sufficient amount of nutrients for a long time.

To get rid of unpleasant odor, you need to brush your teeth and gums. The bacteria that produce products that cause bad breath also live in the plaque that accumulates on the teeth and gum line. In order to reduce this plaque, prevent its further accumulation and remove food debris that “lingers” in the mouth and serves as food for bacteria, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the teeth and gums with a toothbrush and dental floss. Let us remind you about dental floss once again. If you do not thoroughly and daily clean the spaces between your teeth where a toothbrush cannot reach, you will be unlikely to get rid of bad breath.

Diagnosis of the causes of bad breath

Particular attention must be paid to diagnostic methods. First of all, you need to inform your doctor about the presence of chronic diseases. It has been established that the occurrence of bad breath is significantly influenced by nutritional and hygienic factors, therefore patients are advised to refrain from eating, drinking, rinsing the mouth and smoking for at least two hours before diagnostic measures.

The first is a hedonic research method, carried out by a doctor who evaluates the quality and strength of the unpleasant odor, and gives a rating on the Rosenberg scale from 0 to 5 points. The main drawback of the method is subjectivity.

The next step is to measure the amount of sulfur compounds in the exhaled air using a special sulfide monitoring device “Halimeter”. Hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide account for 90% of all volatile sulfur compounds in the oral cavity, so measuring the concentration of these gases is the main way to determine the severity of halitosis.

The next stage is microbiological examination. The diagnostic stage is very important, since depending on the source of the unpleasant odor and the reasons that caused it, the treatment tactics will depend.

Visit your dentist

If, after all the measures taken, the bad breath does not disappear, call and make an appointment with your dentist, where you can not only discuss the problem in detail, but also carry out the necessary procedures to clean your mouth. This may be the best option because:

1) Not all people know how to use dental floss and dental floss most effectively. After examining your mouth, your doctor will teach you the necessary techniques.

2) Effective cleaning of teeth can be hindered by tartar built up on them. Your dentist will remove it.

3) If you have signs of periodontal disease (“gum disease”), your doctor will identify them and provide you with appropriate treatment. Periodontal disease can seriously damage your teeth and the surrounding bone. This creates deep “pockets” between the teeth and gums in which bacteria accumulate, so deep that they are difficult or even impossible to clean.

4) During the examination, your doctor will identify - if any - other untreated diseases that may increase the unpleasant odor.

5) If your doctor seems unlikely that these diseases are the cause of the unpleasant odor, he will suggest that you make an appointment with a therapist and will provide appropriate explanations.

You need to clean your tongue thoroughly

Since most people tend to ignore this procedure, try making it part of your daily oral care routine. Very often the use of this one method - without additional measures- helps eliminate unpleasant odors. Think back again to the “experiment” we recommended you do at the beginning of this section. Then we found that the front of the tongue has a less unpleasant odor than the back. This happens because the front area of the tongue constantly cleans itself - and therefore fewer anaerobic bacteria accumulate on it. As the tongue moves, its front part constantly rubs against the hard palate - this is how cleansing occurs. preventing the accumulation of bacteria. Unlike the front, the back of the tongue during its movement comes into contact only with the soft palate. In this case, effective cleaning is not possible. Therefore, odor-causing bacteria accumulate mainly on the back of the tongue, which is why it is this area that needs periodic cleaning.

How to properly clean your tongue? To cleanse posterior region tongue, there are several methods, but they all have the same goal - to remove bacteria and food debris that accumulate in this area. When cleaning your tongue - no matter what method you use - you should try to get as far as possible to clean as much as possible. large area its surface. If you start choking, don't be surprised. This natural reaction, but over time this reflex should weaken.

How to clean your tongue using a toothbrush or a special brush.

You can use a toothbrush or a special tongue brush to clean the surface of your tongue. Start brushing with the furthest areas you can reach, then gradually move the brush strokes (directed anteriorly) towards the front of the tongue. The movements should be made with some pressure on the surface of the tongue - but, of course, not too strong so as not to cause irritation. To clean your tongue more effectively, you can use toothpaste, since it contains the same ingredients as mouth cleansers. You can learn more about this on the page dedicated to oral cleaners. Pastes that neutralize volatile sulfur compounds. Since VSCs are what cause bad odor, toothpastes containing neutralizing VSCs - such as chlorine dioxide or zinc - improve the freshness of your breath.

Pastes with antibacterial properties

If the toothpaste you use contains antibacterial agents - such as chlorine dioxide or cetylpyridone chloride - you can both "expel" and destroy anaerobic bacteria when cleaning your tongue.

Although brushing your tongue with a toothbrush can provide quite satisfactory results, many people prefer to use a special tongue scraping spoon, believing this method is more effective. Some patients claim that they choke less when scraping their tongue with a spoon than when cleaning it with a toothbrush or special brush. In order to test your reaction to this method, you can conduct a simple experiment. Take a regular spoon from the kitchen (better a teaspoon than a table spoon), turn it over and try to scrape your tongue with it. To do this, touch the back of your tongue with a spoon, press it lightly and pull it forward. Do this carefully, but without effort. Don't scrub too hard as this may irritate the surface of your tongue. If scraping as a method is not objectionable to you, buy a special spoon designed for this purpose at the pharmacy. It is quite possible that it will clean the tongue more effectively than a teaspoon.

What types of liquid mouth cleaners can help get rid of bad breath?

Liquid mouth rinses, when used along with regular and effective tongue cleaning, brushing and flossing, can also help a lot in getting rid of bad odor. You should not just rely on rinse aids and neglect the other measures listed. The ability of a liquid mouthwash to effectively combat bad breath is associated with some of its properties, namely:

A) Antibacterial properties. If the mouthwash has the ability to kill bacteria, it can help reduce the amount of anaerobic bacteria in your mouth. Since it is these bacteria that emit volatile sulfur compounds, which in turn form bad breath, the fewer of these bacteria there are in the mouth, the better.

C) The ability to neutralize volatile sulfur compounds. Rinse aids contain components that have the ability to neutralize volatile sulfur compounds and the substances that form them. As you remember, volatile sulfur compounds are foul-smelling substances that create an unpleasant odor. If a purifier is able to reduce their content in your breath, then it will naturally be fresher.

Listed below are some substances that have the ability to effectively neutralize unpleasant odors. These substances are usually included in mouthwashes sold in pharmacies.

A) Rinse aids containing chlorine dioxide or sodium chlorite (Antibacterial / Neutralizes volatile sulfur compounds)
Many dentists believe that rinses containing chlorine dioxide or its constituent sodium chlorite play a critical role in neutralizing bad breath. Research data suggests that chlorine dioxide has a dual effect:

Chlorine dioxide is an oxidizing substance (meaning it releases oxygen). Since most odor-causing bacteria are anaerobic (that is, they prefer to live in places where there is no oxygen), exposure to an oxidizing agent helps reduce their numbers, which consequently reduces the unpleasant odor.

Chlorine dioxide also affects the level of volatile sulfur compounds in the mouth. It neutralizes those compounds that bacteria have already released, and at the same time destroys those substances from which these compounds are subsequently formed. The result is that the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds in the mouth decreases sharply, and the breath, of course, becomes cleaner.

B) Rinse aids containing zinc (Neutralizes volatile sulfur compounds)
Research has shown that rinse aids containing zinc ions can also reduce the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds. It is believed that this is due to the ability of zinc ions to destroy those substances from which bacteria “make” sulfur compounds.

B) “Antiseptic” type rinses (Antibacterial)
"Antiseptic" cleaners (such as Listerine and its equivalents) are also considered suitable odor neutralizers. The effectiveness of these products is related to their ability to kill bacteria that produce volatile sulfur compounds. However, “antiseptic” rinses themselves cannot destroy these compounds. Many dentists believe that “antiseptic” rinses are not the best choice. These statements are also due to the fact that in “antiseptic” rinses high content alcohol (often around 25 percent). Alcohol is a strong desiccant (dehydrating agent), and therefore dries out soft fabrics mouth And if you remember our section on xerostomia, dry mouth can be one of the causes of unpleasant odor.

D) Rinse aids containing cetylpyridone chloride (Antibacterial)
Cetylpyridinium chloride is a component that is sometimes included in liquid mouthwashes. Possessing antibacterial effect, it helps reduce the number of anaerobic bacteria.

Do mint tablets, lozenges, drops, sprays and chewing gum help get rid of unpleasant odor?

So are liquid rinses, mints, lozenges, drops, sprays, chewing gum, etc. By themselves, they are not the most effective means of eliminating unpleasant odors. However, when used in conjunction with careful and regular tongue cleaning, brushing and flossing, these products can have very positive effects - especially if they contain substances (such as chlorine dioxide, sodium chlorite and zinc) that can neutralize volatile sulfur compounds. In addition, mints, lozenges, and chewing gum stimulate saliva production. And we already know that saliva cleanses the oral cavity of bacteria and their secretions, which means it helps get rid of unpleasant odor.

How to use liquid mouthwash to achieve the greatest effect?

Bacteria that create an unpleasant odor live both on the surface and in the depths of the white plaque that accumulates on and around the teeth, gums, tongue. An antibacterial rinse by itself cannot penetrate into the depths of this plaque, and therefore, before using such a cleaner, it is better to remove as much plaque as possible using your usual methods - scraping the tongue, brushing and flossing. Rinsing your mouth with mouthwash after these procedures will help remove any remaining bacteria. You don’t just need to put the mouthwash in your mouth, but rinse it properly. Before rinsing, say “a-a-a” - this will allow you to stick out your tongue so that the rinse gets to the back of it, where bacteria accumulate. After rinsing, the rinse aid should be immediately spit out. This is why children should not be allowed to use mouthwash - they may accidentally swallow it.

How to clean dentures

If your dentist has installed dentures in your mouth, he or she must explain to you how to properly clean them. Because bacteria accumulates on your dentures just as it does on your natural teeth, tongue, and gums, your doctor will advise you to clean your dentures with a regular toothbrush or a special brush, both the outside and inside of them. After cleaning the dentures, they need to be placed in a container with an antiseptic liquid (your dentist will also advise you which one).

What measures can you take on your own to get rid of an unpleasant odor?

Drink more water
Oddly enough, drinking plenty of water throughout the day will also help you reduce bad odor. If there is a lack of water, your body will try to retain it, which will reduce the production of saliva, and it will be less effective at dissolving and washing away bacteria and their secretions, which create an unpleasant odor. Drinking enough water every day is especially important for those suffering from xerostomia (chronic dry mouth).

Rinse your mouth with water
Rinsing your mouth with plain water will also help relieve bad odor for a short period of time. Rinsing also dissolves and washes away bacterial secretions that harm the freshness of your breath.

Stimulate saliva production
This will also help you reduce bad odor. You remember that saliva cleanses the mouth, dissolving and washing away bacteria and their secretions. The simplest way stimulate saliva production - chew something. When you chew—anything—your body thinks you're eating food, so it signals it to increase saliva production. (Saliva is a very important component in digesting food). You can, for example, chew clove seeds, dill, mint or parsley. Peppermint tablets, chewing gum and mint candies help salivation. But: if you prefer these products, make sure they do not contain sugar. Sugar promotes the growth of bacteria that can cause tooth decay.

Maintain your oral hygiene especially carefully after consuming protein foods.
Anaerobic bacteria produce volatile sulfur compounds - the cause of unpleasant odors - as a result of consuming proteins. After you eat meat, fish or any other protein-rich food, thoroughly clean your mouth so that the smallest particles of protein food do not serve as a breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria.

Treatment of helminthiases helps eliminate bad breath in children
Scientists note that parents often notice bad breath in children with intestinal helminthiases (especially enterobiasis), which goes away after the helminths are eradicated. Scientists suggest that the cause of the unpleasant odor may be stagnation of intestinal contents due to the presence of worms.

What diseases cause bad breath?

Diseases of the teeth and gums (caries) Pathology of the respiratory system (any infectious and inflammatory diseases, tumors)
Trimethylaminuria and lactase deficiency

Reception of many medicines It can also have a detrimental effect on the freshness of your breath.

Treatment for bad breath

First of all, you should contact your dentist for diagnosis and treatment. The doctor will determine whether there is caries or gum disease, carry out sanitation (disinfection) of the oral cavity, and remove tartar if present. As a rule, after this the smell ceases to bother most patients.

If the dentist concludes that the odor does not originate in the oral cavity, but in the deeper structures of the body, he will refer you to a therapist.

The therapist will prescribe an examination to determine the cause of your concerns and will treat the disease that he identifies. Many will be disappointed that they did not find the name of a pill for bad breath here, but smart people realize that this treatment will be different depending on your personal cause of the smell. A whole range of drugs may be needed, including antibiotics, which, as is known, cannot be used without identifying the pathogenic microorganism, and this can only be done through medical tests.

Which doctors should you contact if you have bad breath?

Dentist
Gastroenterologist
Therapist (general practitioner)

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 reasons are various problems in the oral cavity – poor hygiene, carious teeth, gum inflammation, chronic inflammation 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 mellitus, medical supplies 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 form. 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 compounds in the oral cavity. fatty acids. 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 can 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 oral fluid in small quantities, however, with unsatisfactory 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 (about all systemic reasons we will tell you 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 transformation into bad-smelling chemicals. Food leftovers 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 -

Microbial plaque on the back of the tongue is one of the most common causes of unpleasant odor. The tongue is an ideal niche for anaerobic bacteria, desquamated epithelial cells, and a deposited layer of proteins and carbohydrates. Therefore, the most active processes of decay/proteolysis of amino acids occur in the tongue.

Regular tongue cleaning greatly reduces the intensity of the processes of decay of amino acids and the formation of foul-smelling compounds in the oral cavity. It is best to clean your tongue not with a toothbrush (it will not remove much plaque), but with special tongue scrapers.

3. Inflammatory gum diseases –

An increase in the amount of microbial plaque on the teeth due to irregular hygiene sooner or later leads to the development of gum inflammation. It can be superficial and affect only the marginal part of the gums around the teeth - such inflammation is called Gingivitis, or accompanied by bone destruction, tooth mobility and suppuration from under the gums - such inflammation is called Periodontitis.

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. Such patients are especially often bothered by an unpleasant odor during an exacerbation. 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 cleaning teeth, 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 great place, in which food debris rots and infection accumulates. 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.

In addition, many people complain about the unpleasant odor that comes from dental crowns. Firstly, such a smell may indicate. The reasons for the onset of rotting under the crown may be poor fit of the edge of the crown to the tooth or poor oral hygiene. Secondly, if we're talking about about bridges - the odor can be a consequence of the accumulation of tartar under the pontic part of the bridge.

How to get rid of bad breath in the case of crowns - you need to contact an orthopedic dentist, who, if necessary, will X-ray tooth under the crown, or will direct you to clean dental plaque. If visual inspection or a photograph of the tooth will confirm that the tooth tissue is rotting – in best case scenario The crown will be removed and the tooth will be re-treated; in the worst case, the tooth will need to be removed.

6. Smell from dentures –

Poor hygiene of removable dentures leads to the formation of a bacterial film and dental deposits on them. In this case, the prosthesis itself begins to be a source of infection and unpleasant odor. How to deal with bad breath if you use removable dentures - read the article at the link below.

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 now, 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 the 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 with pediatric dentist and ENT doctor. Never go to government nurseries 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 mucus production 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 patients different odors to their breath. 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 rotten eggs from the mouth - with Lignac's disease (disorder of cystine metabolism),
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 a microorganism in the stomach and intestines Helicobacter pylori, which is one of the reasons for the development peptic ulcer. 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, it is this genetic disease that is the most common cause undiagnosed body odor.

For respiratory diseases -

For diseases such as acute and chronic rhinitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis and bronchiectasis - there is an excessive accumulation of mucus and sputum, 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.

Breath odor appears especially often when the inflammatory process is polypous, i.e. when polyps form in the nasal passages or sinuses. This will definitely require not only drug treatment, but first of all - surgical removal polyps. Treatment should be carried out by an ENT doctor and consists of prescribing antiseptic and antibacterial drugs.

In acute and chronic tonsillitis, special attention should be paid to the presence of deep grooves (lacunae) on the surface of the tonsils, because It is in them that bacteria, desquamated epithelial cells, mucus, etc. accumulate, and in order to cope with the smell in this case, regular washing of the lacunae will be required. According to statistics, more than 50-70% of patients with chronic sinusitis complain of an unpleasant odor.

In children and adults with bad breath, mouth breathing is diagnosed in 40% of cases. Why is this harmful, and it is important to breathe through the nose... The fact is that when breathing through the mouth, the mucous membrane of the oral cavity dries out due to the accelerated evaporation of water (oral fluid). All this leads to accelerated formation of dental plaque and contributes to the development of oral dysbacteriosis.

Mouth breathing is usually a symptom of chronic inflammatory diseases nasal cavity or sinuses, possibly due to a deviated nasal septum. In this case, you need to contact an ENT doctor. However, very often constant dryness oral cavity is also observed with normal nasal breathing (see below).

In patients with xerostomia –

When the volume of saliva secretion decreases, a disease called xerostomia (constant dry mouth) occurs. With this disease, patients very often complain of bad breath. Xerostomia can occur while taking medications - antihypertensives, antidepressants, diuretics and antihistamines, as well as drugs NSAID groups– non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Other reasons may be dehydration, presence diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, in the absence of appetite, with frequent use of mouth rinses (containing alcohol), as well as in old age. is carried out by regularly artificially moisturizing the mucous membrane, as well as by means of stimulating saliva production. In addition, such patients are prescribed special toothpastes and rinses,

The smell from eating garlic and onions -

Foods that have a strong odor (such as garlic and onions) are absorbed from the intestines into the bloodstream. Together with the blood, these substances enter the lungs, and therefore the smell of this particular food product will be felt in the exhaled air. If you want to quickly eliminate the smell of garlic from your mouth, then we will disappoint you - only time will help you with this.

How to get rid of bad breath -

Treatment of oral halitosis should begin with an oral examination and consultation with a dentist. This will immediately eliminate many unpleasant diseases, for example, malignant tumors of the oral cavity, which can also give an unpleasant odor. Treatment of halitosis will consist of the following measures:

reduction of microbial plaque,
proper oral hygiene,
treatment of concomitant gum inflammation,
the use of agents that block volatile sulfur compounds,
masking unpleasant odors with fragrances,
to give up smoking.

1. Reducing the amount of plaque –

Mechanical reduction –
Regular brushing of teeth after each meal, use of dental floss, regular cleaning of the back of the tongue with special scrapers - all this allows you to minimize the number of pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity and food residues, which play a major role in the appearance of an unpleasant odor.
Brushing your teeth with a brush and toothpaste can only remove soft microbial plaque. If you have hard dental deposits on your teeth, they can only be removed by a dentist, for example, by. This is especially important if you have chronic gingivitis or periodontitis. Moreover, with periodontitis, it is necessary to remove not only all supragingival dental deposits, but also all subgingival deposits localized in periodontal pockets.
Chemical reduction –
The most commonly used for this purpose are mouth rinses and toothpastes based on antiseptics and cetylpyridine, as well as a combination of the antibiotic triclosan with a copolymer and sodium fluoride. Studies have shown that 3 hours after using a product with chlorhexidine, the odor intensity was reduced by 45%, and when using a combination of triclosan/copolymer/sodium fluoride - by approximately 84%.
Fluoride toothpastes also slow down the growth of plaque and reduce the intensity of odor by up to 80%, but if fluorides are not combined with chlorhexidine or triclosan, the duration of this effect will not be very long (up to 4-5 hours). Essential oils reduce odor only for a short time. The effectiveness of the listed remedies will be significantly lower in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis. Their main treatment should be the removal of all dental plaque, followed by a course of anti-inflammatory therapy.

The dentist prescribes antiseptic rinses and anti-inflammatory gels (for example, Cholisal-gel) for a course of 10-12 days. Also, if there are periodontal pockets, the patient is prescribed regular rinsing or curettage. And only after this complex therapy products, for example, with triclosan, can have a really good effect.

Important : the use of a course of the above antiseptics and antibiotics helps to reduce the number pathogenic microorganisms, but this effect is temporary and will last mainly only as long as you use these remedies. In order not to harm your health, the course of antiseptics should not exceed 1 month. Therefore, in order to avoid the rapid restoration of unwanted bacteria and the associated odor, a course of probiotics is prescribed, for example, with the drug Imudon.

This probiotic (in the form of tablets intended for resorption in the oral cavity) normalizes the composition of the microflora of the oral cavity and suppresses the growth of unwanted bacteria. The use of Imudon can be prescribed not only immediately after the use of antiseptics, but also as periodic preventive courses, for example, a repeat course every 1-2 months.

2. Proper oral hygiene –

Reducing the formation of volatile sulfur compounds, diamines and other foul-smelling substances is only possible if the oral cavity is regularly cleansed of food debris and microbial plaque. Therefore, without regular oral hygiene, it will be impossible to cope with the unpleasant odor. In the video below you can familiarize yourself with the technique of cleaning teeth with a brush and floss. More detailed information on brushing your teeth - you can find it in the article at the link below.

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 –

use of various sprays with essential oil peppermint or menthol, 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 –

The problem faced great amount people - bad breath.

When a person notices it in himself, he begins to worry, feel awkward, and when communicating with people he keeps his distance from his interlocutors.

For some, this phenomenon is constant, for others it occurs periodically.

A person can know about such a circumstance in his body and try different methods hide it. Constantly thinking about why a person’s breath stinks makes them communicate less with others and not think about organizing their personal life.

Possible reasons

Most likely, the formation of a foul odor is associated with poor oral hygiene. The main reason is poorly cleaned teeth and tongue. Food stuck between the teeth and at the base of the gums, plaque on the tongue, gives an undesirable odor.

This symptom is also characteristic of dental caries and gum diseases - periodontal disease and gingivitis.

The freshness of breath is negatively affected by the presence of dentures.

Microorganisms accumulate on dentures and create an unbearable odor.

Dentures must be cleaned after meals and treated with an antiseptic solution daily.

Unhealthy salivary glands favor the development of bacteria in the mouth. Saliva is produced in a small volume, which causes rotting of food debris in the oral cavity.

Bad breath in the morning is due to decreased saliva production during sleep. After hygiene procedures, the smell disappears.

Daily diet and lifestyle. Onions, garlic, cabbage, some types of cheeses, alcohol and smoking contribute to the formation of a specific odor. Frequent use coffee and carbonated drinks change the acidity of the oral cavity and can be one of the causes of unpleasant breath.

And if the teeth, gums, salivary glands, tongue - in perfect condition, then bad breath can be a manifestation of certain diseases:

chronic tonsillitis and sinusitis;
diseases of the lungs and bronchi;
stomach diseases - gastritis or ulcers;
inflammation of the intestines - colitis and enteritis;
unhealthy kidneys or liver;
diabetes;
nervous tension or stress;
hormonal changes in women during the monthly cycle;
metabolic disease;
starvation.

In 80% of cases, the formation of an unpleasant odor is associated with the condition of the oral cavity.

How to assess the presence of odor

You can feel these symptoms using several tests:

Lick the wrist, dry and smell. If you can't smell the smell, then everything is fine.
Lick the spoon, sniff it after a minute - this will be the smell of the breath being tested.
Wash your hands, cover your mouth and breathe. Then sniff.

If it’s difficult to determine yourself, ask loved one help and do not hesitate to tell the truth. This must be done so as not to worry in vain.

Bad breath: what to do

Try to establish the cause and eliminate it. Mouth rinses, lozenges, and chewing gums are only a temporary disguise. If you notice persistent bad breath, it is advisable to visit your dentist. Get an oral examination and any necessary treatment.

See new technologies for caries treatment.

Treatment options

What to do yourself, except normal cleaning toothpaste 2 times a day:

clean the interdental spaces with dental floss 2 times a day;
do not snack between main meals;
after eating, rinse your mouth with mouthwash or water, if you use chewing gum, then for 3 - 5 minutes;
Be sure to clean your tongue of bacterial plaque, clean thoroughly but gently.

Drug treatment

The doctor will determine the origin and eliminate the sources of this disease. The dentist will perform professional cleaning of the oral cavity:

cleans teeth from stones;
remove damaged teeth;
will cure teeth with caries and replace old fillings;
will teach individual oral care.

If after the measures taken the bad smell from the mouth persists, you should consult a therapist.

Drug treatment is carried out taking into account the disease that caused the formation of unwanted odor from the mouth. Specialists will carry out the necessary diagnostics and prescribe treatment.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine is rich in time-tested recipes for combating bad breath:

Chew a pinch of fresh pine needles. The oral cavity is disinfected, gum inflammation is relieved.
Prepare a solution - add 4 tsp to a glass of water. hydrogen peroxide. Rinse your mouth morning and evening.
St. John's wort infusion. For 0.5 liters of water take 1.5 tbsp. spoons of grass. Boil for 1 minute, leave for 1 hour and filter. Rinse your mouth after every meal.
Peppermint infusion. Take 1 tsp per glass of boiling water. herbs, leave for an hour and filter. Rinse when you need to freshen your breath.
An infusion to get rid of plaque on teeth and eliminate bad breath. Cook from equal parts oak bark, nettle, St. John's wort, chamomile, birch leaves. Take 2 tbsp. l. dry mixture, pour 4 tbsp. boiling water, let it brew. Strain and rinse your mouth five times a day. The course of treatment is one week.
Take 0.5 tsp in the morning on an empty stomach. buckwheat flour. Treat for 10 days, break for three days, repeat several courses until the unpleasant odor goes away.
Infusion of wormwood. They cook simply. Place 1 tbsp in any container. spoon of wormwood, pour 2 glasses hot water, leave for 3 hours. Strain and rinse your mouth 3-4 times a day. The bad smell goes away after a week.
Activated carbon will help overcome the problem. You need to take 4 tablets in the evening, and 5 tablets in the morning before meals. The bad breath goes away on the third day. Treatment can last a week.
A decoction of oak bark treats stomatitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis and relieves bad breath. Rinse your mouth with the broth three times a day.

Traditional methods help to cope well with the disease without harming the body.

Breath freshening products

Products containing vitamin C. Ascorbic acid destroys harmful bacteria in the oral cavity. Citrus fruits and juices from them freshen your breath.
Helpful green tea. Prevents the proliferation of microbes.
Roasting the seeds will remove the smell for a while.
Cloves will freshen your breath. Place by the cheek and hold, 1-3 times a day.
Nuts, fennel, anise seed will freshen your breath.
Fresh apples, carrots, celery will be peeled tooth enamel from the raid.
Parsley leaves will get rid of the smell of onions and garlic. You just need to chew parsley leaves.
Lemon increases salivation, thereby cleansing the oral cavity. A slice of lemon will get rid of the repulsive odor for two hours.
Natural yogurt, dairy and dairy products prevent the proliferation of microbes in the oral cavity.
Rinse your mouth with infusions of cranberries, rose hips, sea buckthorn and strawberries.
Oil removes unpleasant odor. Rinse your mouth with any vegetable oil for 10 minutes.

To prevent the proliferation of microorganisms in the oral cavity, you need to include natural fruits and vegetables in your diet. Limit consumption meat dishes. Drink more water.

Eliminating bad odor is a complex process and can take a long time. Known methods are quite effective, but they will cope with the problem for a short period of time. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the underlying disease that leads to the appearance of such an unpleasant phenomenon.