Chronic bad breath, causes and remedies

Chronic bad breath causes a lot of trouble to the owner, especially if, by occupation, you have to communicate a lot with people. Dental and oral problems are among the most common causes of bad breath. Symptoms and methods of therapy are quite diverse, but each specific case must be correctly diagnosed.

Description of the disease

As a rule, bad breath is the result of a number of diseases associated with the vital activity of certain pathogens. In medical terms, bad breath is halitosis. Having dealt with the causes of its occurrence, you can choose the appropriate treatment.

Bad breath has a permanent medical term - halitosis. Usually a person with this disease does not even notice its presence. This is due to the fact that the olfactory receptors get used to constant odors and simply stop emitting those that seem unpleasant to an outsider.

For example, it is officially confirmed that after a while the smell of mustiness, stuffiness, dirt ceases to irritate and be noticeable to a person after a few minutes. In a stuffy room, the sense of smell is dulled. Therefore, people who have bad breath often simply do not notice it due to the reasons described above.

Reasons for the appearance

Bad breath is a very delicate problem, there can be several reasons for it. Among them:

• foods that have a strong odor, such as garlic, onions, and more. Being processed by the body, some of the components that are not digested after such products are released during exhalation and have an unpleasant odor;
• Smoking causes persistent bad breath, as tar and nicotine accumulate on the soft tissues of the mouth, forming plaque on the teeth, resulting in bad breath. Smoking can provoke periodontal disease, as it dehydrates the oral cavity and reduces salivation. And saliva performs the function of moisturizing and disinfecting; when smoking, it is violated;
• alcohol, which also dries the oral mucosa, which provokes harmful microorganisms to multiply;
• malnutrition, namely the lack of carbohydrates, but an excess of protein;
• soft plaque or hard deposits on the teeth are considered the most common causes of bad breath. As a rule, this happens due to poor dental and oral hygiene, and plaque on the teeth is clearly visible. It is removed very easily and quickly, being soft. If you do not get rid of it in time, it turns into solid deposits on the teeth, forming the so-called tartar. Both those and other dental deposits are composed of microorganisms, whose growth and waste products become the culprit of bad smell;
• inflammation of the gums. It is worth paying attention to bleeding, pain during brushing your teeth, swelling of the gums, redness. All these are signs of gingivitis, which always appears in those who do not follow the rules of oral hygiene;
• periodontal disease. In addition to bleeding, inflammation, swelling, painful gum syndrome, the disease is characterized by tooth mobility, the flow of pus from under the gums, and the neck of the tooth is exposed. Periodontitis is a consequence of gingivitis not cured in time, in which the bone tissue around the teeth collapses, thereby attaching the tooth to the gum itself becomes worse and it begins to swing. But the original cause of the disease was, again, poor oral hygiene;

• caries. In carious defects of the teeth, food remains get stuck, they are populated by a large number of microbes, which causes decay of the teeth and, as a result, the constant release of bad breath. In this case, only dental treatment will help eliminate the cause;
• carious teeth under a crown that does not fit the tooth well enough, causing the tooth to rot. The problem is solved by treating or removing the affected tooth and changing the crown;
• chronic tonsillitis is another cause of the described problem, the source of which is inflamed tonsils, especially after suffering follicular tonsillitis;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastritis, peptic ulcers of the duodenum and stomach. Bad breath appears during their exacerbation;
• oral dysbacteriosis. The reverse side of the coin is excessive oral hygiene, that is, the abuse of toothpaste, various rinses with antiseptics and antibiotics disrupts the natural microflora of the oral cavity. Their frequent use creates the illusion that there is no smell, but as soon as the action of the product ends, the unpleasant smell reappears;
• mouth breathing. The habit or necessity, often due to a cold and stuffy nose, to breathe through the mouth regularly dries out the mucous membrane, as a result of which deposits form on the teeth faster, dysbacteriosis develops and, of course, constant bad breath;
• lung disease, although this is a rather rare cause, but still taking place.

Thus, the main cause of chronic bad breath can be considered improper oral hygiene and its consequences, dry mouth. With xerostomia (dryness of the mucous membrane in the oral cavity), the protective function of saliva is poorly expressed, bacteria are destroyed very slowly, and favorable conditions are created in the mouth for their active growth and reproduction. The problem may worsen with age. And the most common dental causes of persistent bad breath are periodontal and periodontal diseases, which should be discussed in more detail.

Between the bone bed and the human tooth is a space-filling connective tissue called periodontium. And periodontitis is an inflammatory process that occurs in it, in which the integrity of the ligaments that hold the teeth in place is lost. But the bone tissue around the tooth can also be damaged. The lesions are small, but sometimes they reach quite large sizes, and sometimes cysts form.

Periodontitis most often occurs due to the penetration of infections into the oral cavity through other dental problems, such as caries or pulpitis, through root canals. Based on the reasons for the development of the disease, the following are distinguished:

Bacteria can also enter the teeth due to inflammatory processes in neighboring tissues, for example, with sinusitis. Periodontitis is also classified according to the form of the course, distinguishing between acute and chronic forms. Acute is also divided into serous and purulent types, and chronic into:

1. granulomatous;
2. granulating;
3. fibrous.

Chronic periodontitis has stages of exacerbation. The acute form is characterized by a growing pain syndrome: from weak, aching to acute, localized, continuous with purulent inflammation.

Diagnosis of bad breath

Halitosis (bad breath) is diagnosed by a dentist during a conversation with a patient, during which the doctor finds out the possible causes of its occurrence. If you are taking any medications or other medications, are on any diet, smoke or have other bad habits, you must tell your dentist. You also need to talk about the circumstances under which signs of a bad smell were detected.

After the conversation, the doctor examines the gums, teeth, salivary glands and soft tissues of the oral cavity for any abnormalities and inflammation. If the dentist determines the cause of halitosis is a disease of any organ system, he issues a referral to a general practitioner. If the cause is dental, he prescribes treatment. When periodontal disease is identified as the cause of bad breath, a consultation with a periodontist is necessary.

If you suspect a lung infection, diabetes, kidney or liver disease, tests are ordered to help determine the exact cause and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

How to get rid of bad breath

Treatment for bad breath depends on the cause. If the cause of halitosis was improper oral hygiene, then it will need to be corrected. The most effective means in this case will be those that contain zinc. It neutralizes hydrogen sulfide compounds, which appear as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms, which cause an unpleasant odor. It can be both toothpaste and rinses.

If the cause is excessive dryness of the mucous membrane in the mouth, that is, xerotomy, then you need to choose a toothpaste that contains substances that additionally moisturize the oral cavity for a long time.

Also keep in mind that most toothpastes that claim to be able to eliminate bad breath mainly contain antibiotics and antiseptics. They inhibit the growth of bacteria, and the smell is masked with the help of aromatic additives. As described above, long-term use of such a product can only exacerbate the problem, as it will lead to even more dryness in the mouth, reducing the ability to resist bacteria penetrating into it. You can use such toothpastes for no more than three weeks, otherwise prolonged use will lead to oral dysbacteriosis.

Halitosis due to periodontitis

If the cause of bad breath is periodontitis, it should be treated in stages after consulting a dentist and under his supervision. First, high-quality mechanical and drug treatment of root canals is carried out. Next lay calcium hydroxide for 7-14 days. After that, antibiotics of general action, anti-inflammatory and other drugs are prescribed. After 7-14 days, the canals of the tooth and the cavity of the tooth are sealed.

If periodontitis has developed into a chronic form, its treatment occurs in three stages:

• mechanical, namely expansion followed by cleaning to complete removal of destroyed and infected parts;
• antiseptic, in which the affected area and dental canals are disinfected. Then, procedures are carried out aimed at enhancing the regenerative processes of bone tissue. To do this, a special paste is placed in the root, which relieves inflammation, has antibacterial and absorbable properties;
• for the final recovery, high-quality and accurate canal filling is necessary.

Only if all the doctor's prescriptions are followed, you can expect a quick and effective cure for periodontitis and getting rid of bad breath.

Folk recipes to combat bad breath

To combat halitosis, traditional medicine is often used, but you should not rely on them, because they only remove symptoms and reduce inflammation. But traditional medicine is not able to get rid of the cause and, accordingly, completely get rid of the problem.

In addition to the prescribed course of therapy, or if poor oral hygiene is the cause of the smell, you can use the following tools and recipes:

1. one or two teaspoons of bitter wormwood, steam with a glass of boiling water, leave for twenty minutes, strain. Rinse your mouth with decoction four times a day;
2. an equal amount of oak bark, St. John's wort, chamomile, nettle and birch leaves brew as tea and drink several times a day;
3. brew two tablespoons of peppermint in a liter of boiling water, insist for an hour. Rinse your mouth with the resulting decoction four to six times a day;
4. prepare a decoction of cumin from fifteen grams of seeds, filled with a glass of boiling water, leave for an hour to brew and rinse your mouth with it.

The duration of action of such funds is not too long. As a rule, they remove the smell for one and a half to two hours, after which it appears again.

If you're worried about persistent bad breath, especially when it's accompanied by pain, swelling, redness and bleeding of the gums, redness of the throat, nasal discharge, and fever, see your dentist right away. Even if there are no such symptoms, and halitosis is still present, do not postpone a visit to the doctor.