Can Anything Truly Eliminate Bad Breath?

Sometimes it can seem like no product, home remedy, or behavioral modification is enough to completely eliminate bad breath.  Every day, we awaken to at least a mild form of halitosis commonly referred to as “morning breath”.  Though we can typically get rid of morning breath by simply brushing our teeth and perhaps using some mouthwash, the fact remains that it can be a constant source of embarrassment.  But far worse is when we begin to develop chronic bad breath problems for seemingly no apparent reason after living without the condition in the preceding years.  Suddenly, we struggle to find a bad breath cure on our own because we don’t want to admit to our dentist that we now have an issue.

This is a perfectly understandable position but telling your dentist is perhaps the best and most efficient means to stopping halitosis bad breath. After all, a dental health care professional has been trained to solve these very problems and you will probably need their advice because there are a wide range of factors that may be the cause of bad breath, including:

• Dry mouth—this is typically responsible for morning breath because the body slows salivation rates during sleep.  Saliva helps repel and control the bacteria responsible for the majority of chronic bad breath troubles. 


• Plaque and bacteria at back of tongue—this is a very common reason why bad breath treatment is necessary because bacteria combine with the plaque on the tongue because they thrive in low-oxygen environments.  Plaque does not allow saliva (which is rich in oxygen) to penetrate and help control the bacteria.  A tongue scraping is a common bad breath treatment option and is often necessary to fully remove the plaque and bacteria.


• Gum Disease—this is the second leading cause of halitosis and an estimated 15% of the adult population over the age of forty has an advanced form of this condition. 

Where gum disease is concerned, you will need to see a dentist to fully eradicate the condition and the anaerobic bacteria that cause it.  Unfortunately, gum disease starts out very mild with relatively painless symptoms, such as:

• Sore gums
• Inflammation and reddening of gingival tissue
• Gums may bleed when they are touched and will do so more readily as the condition worsens
• Chronic bad breath

Indeed, the sudden appearance of chronic bad breath is a very important indicator that gum disease is present.  The actual odor caused by gum disease is due to the decaying gum tissue which is destroyed by toxins produced by anaerobic bacteria.  As the gum disease worsens and the bacteria spread to the roots of the teeth, these toxins will dissolve and destroy supporting gingival and bone tissue.  Ultimately, the teeth will loosen and fall out before the bacteria spread to other areas of the body.

Although we may want to believe that we can either eliminate bad breath using over-the-counter treatments or that the problem will go away on its own, it is sometimes a warning sign of a larger problem and actually requires the attention of a dentist or healthcare professional. Once you consult your dentist and he or she tells you that it is not a chronic halitosis or bad breath problem, try using an all natural product at home to help combat the bad breat causing bacteria. A highly recommended product would be OraMD®, "The Mouth Doctor." It's all natural formulation helps kill the harmful anaerobic bacteria inside the mouth and leaves a clean, refreshing smell. Follow the link to learn more about how to eliminate bad breath.