The Major Causes of Halitosis

Halitosis or bad breath is an embarrassing problem. Many people suffer from this problem but cannot get rid of it due to their ignorance. To fight any problem, we need to learn about the causes of that problem first. Therefore, to help you fight the problem, I will discuss about the causes of halitosis in this article. 

Halitosis

According to this website an estimated 25 percent of the world’s population is affected by halitosis. It is also known as bad breath or fetor oris. There are various possible causes of halitosis, but the chief one is oral hygiene. In many cases, you can improve your halitosis with consistent proper dental hygiene. If simple self-care techniques do not improve your condition, you should consult your dentist or physician to make sure that there is not any more serious condition that is causing halitosis.

There are 12 types of bad breath or halitosis caused by diseases.

• Metabolic breath.
• Halitophobia
• Tonsil breath.
• Menstrual breath.
• Drug breath.
• Sinus breath.
• Gut breath.
• Trimethylaminuria breath.
• Diabetes breath.
• Drug-induced bad breath.
• Lung breath.
• Liver breath.

The Causes of Halitosis

Following are the major causes of halitosis.

Food

All the food you eat begins to be broken down in your mouth. This can increase bacteria and cause bad breath. Certain foods like onions, spices, and garlic are also responsible for bad breath. After you digest them, these foods enter your bloodstream, are carried to your lungs and affect your breath.

Dental Hygiene    

Small particles of food can build up and slowly break down, and produce odor. Regular brushing and flossing can make sure the removal of these particles. If you do not brush regularly, a film of bacteria called plaque builds up. This plaque can irritate gums and cause inflammation between the teeth and gums. Dentures that do not fit properly or are not cleaned regularly can harbor odor-causing bacteria and food particles.

Tobacco

Smoking causes its own type of mouth odor. Smokers and oral tobacco users also tend to have gum disease, which is another source of bad breath.

Dry Mouth

Saliva removes particles that cause bad breath and helps cleanse your mouth. There is a condition called dry mouth or xerostomia, which decreases the production of saliva. This can also lead to bad breath. You have dry mouth naturally when you sleep, and it worsens when you sleep with your mouth open.

Medications

Certain drugs can contribute to reducing saliva, and, therefore, increasing saliva. There are also other drugs that can produce odors by breaking down and releasing chemicals in the breath.

Infections in Mouth

Surgical wounds after oral surgery, like tooth removal, gum disease, tooth decay, or mouth sores- all these can cause halitosis.

Everyone should be careful about these causes of halitosis. This way, we can have a bad breath- free mouth.