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Halitosis: Bad Breath!

Do you have stinky breath? Not a socially acceptable question, but then again, if you have it, you'd certainly want to know and get rid of it. But how do you do that…and prevent it even? The latest research shows a lot of what's out there for the problem doesn’t work. Now, the fact is there are lots of reasons for bad breath…from sinus problems, to not eating, to eating and not brushing the teeth.

But for many of us, the source of the bad breath is the tongue--and that’s going to be the prime target for getting rid of the offending odors. Marianne Debruyn admits she has halitosis from too much coffee drinking. “They have accused me of having bad breathe, we have bad breathe fights at home.” Halitosis like Marianne has usually originates from the gums and from the furrows on the surface of the tongue.

“The papilla that is on the tongue it harbors bacteria especially when you eat or even drink alcohol or caffeine they are diuretics so it decreases the amount of saliva in your mouth, when you have less saliva in you’re mouth guess what bacteria harbors and tends to grow,” says Dr. Jacqueline Fulop-Goodling, an orthodontist. That bacteria then causes the production of sulfur compounds which give the smell.

 Now, the latest review of research of previous studies on halitosis found little evidence to support or debunk the use of many products sold for the problem--including mouthwashes, mints, gums and sprays. They don’t last very long. Now, they can temporarily mask the odor...and some mouth rinses have ingredients that can neutralize the odor of the bacteria that produce it. But they did find two big ticket things that work: tooth brushing and tongue scraping.

 “With all the little papilla on your tongue the bacteria says hey great I can hide right in here, I can hide right in here, so the tongue scrapper or brushing your tongue is fabulous you get all the bacteria off and you can rinse it,” says Dr. Fulop-Goodling. The research found between a 42 and 75 percent reduction of sulfur levels after use of the tongue scraper. Tooth brushing provided a 33 to 45 percent reduction as well.

Now, something that a lot of people completely ignore is dental floss. Dental floss is key because it gets rid of the food stuck between the teeth. Otherwise the food remains, bacteria can grow, produce sulfur products, and…bad breath. ‘Take dental floss and floss between your teeth, and it can not be flavored minty or cinnamon, and you smell it is really gross, all my patients come back to me and say Dr. Jackie I never flossed before now I am doing twice a day you created a monster,” states Dr. Fulop-Goodling.

Other things you can do: Eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat…but also avoid onions. And, avoid alcoholic beverages, caffeine, and tobacco. If your mouth is dry, suck on sugar free mints or chew sugar free gum. If you’re not eating, or are on a low carb diet, that could be the cause. And then a visit to the doctor might be in order to make sure you don’t have a sinusitis or something else like reflux going on.

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