Recent Bad Breath Research Indicates
Problem Often Secondary

Bad breath research may seem like a trivial matter to some of us who consider the condition a rather mild but embarrassing problem. After all, in situations when someone has admitted to or been embarrassed by bad breath, the most common response is that it is due to "something I ate". For people who consistently eat a diet rich in spicy foods and loaded with garlic and onions, perhaps this is indeed the case.

However, food consumption tends to create transitory (or short term) bad breath. Once the offending food has gone through our system (usually within 24-48 hours depending on the substance), the problem goes away. However, in cases of chronic bad breath, there is typically some larger medical issue at work with the halitosis only being a symptom. Some of the medical problems that may cause bad breath include:

• Gum or Periodontal Disease
• Diabetes
• Kidney or Liver Disease
• Sinus Infection

Gum disease is the second leading cause of bad breath symptoms. The condition is actually an infection in the gingival tissue caused by anaerobic bacteria living in your mouth. The condition typically begins when we fail to remove plaque using good oral hygiene. Because the bacteria are protected from saliva (a natural defense against gum disease that helps control microbe populations in the mouth), they breed faster behind this layer of plaque and start to cause bad breath problems as the condition worsens. Chronic bad breath is a common symptom of gum disease and it worsens as the infection spreads throughout your mouth. Ultimately, periodontal disease causes far greater problems than halitosis or bad breath, including:

• Increased risk of heart disease and stroke
• Teeth may fall out
• Decreased immune system efficiency
• Infections in the heart chambers

A bad breath problem may also be caused by kidney or liver disease but this is a very rare cause. However, when other common causes of bad breath have been ruled out, you may want to consult with your physician to rule out the possibility of these conditions be the source of your halitosis.

A sinus infection is actually a fairly common cause of bad breath and it comes about when the flow from a postnasal drip seeps onto the back of the tongue due to an opening in the soft palate in the upper mouth. This seepage then feeds the bacteria living in a film of plaque at the back of the tongue and causes their population to swell due to the abundance of nutrients.

Plus, bad breath and sinus infections go hand-in-hand because we often cannot breathe through the nose and therefore do so through our mouths, causing them to dry out. This decreases the production of saliva which leads to an increase in the population of bacteria responsible for bad breath problems. As you can see, bad breath research is nothing to take lightly because it can help inform you as to the true causes of halitosis and potential implications for your overall health.

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To learn more about OraMD® and bad breath research, follow the link.