The number one bad breath cause is without question oral bacteria living inside your mouth. If doing research, you may run across a large number of sites claiming that everything from smoking to drinking alcohol will cause bad breath. Do not be fooled by these claims because they are merely contributing factors in the development of halitosis and thus encourage the growth of the oral bacteria living in your mouth and truly responsible for all the bad breath problems you face.
The oral bacteria themselves do not give off odor. However, just like any living organism, oral bacteria much ingest food and then dispose of waste. The bacteria feed off of food particles and dead skin cells that are almost always present in the oral cavity. The bad breath odor that we all hate is actually bacteria feces and scientists have given these waste products a nicer-sounding name: Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSC’s). The most common compounds known to be causes of bad breath include:
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Dimethyl Sulfide
- Methyl Mercaptan
There are also other non-sulfuric compounds produced by oral bacteria that also contribute to bad breath problems, including:
- Cadaverine
- Petrecine
- Skatole
- Isovaleric Acid
You can reduce bad breath problems by lowering your consumption of high-protein foods because these are favorites of oral bacteria. In truth, a vegetarian diet will definitely help reduce halitosis and may even eliminate the problem entirely. However, if this is a very drastic step and many people are not willing to go that far to prevent bad breath. Thus, simply remember to brush after consuming high-protein foods, such as:
- Fish
- Meat
- Poultry
- Milk
- Eggs
- Cheese
Another way to keep the population of oral bacteria under control so that less VSC’s are produced is drink plenty of water. This helps to dilute and remove some of the bacteria waste products and will definitely reduce bad breath odor. In addition to helping wash away the bacteria feces, additional water intake will also provide another element of bad breath control by increasing the level of salivation in the mouth.
Saliva also helps wash away bacteria feces and the food particles that the microorganisms feed upon. Also, as an additional defense against VSC’s and the bad breath problems they create, saliva also is rich in oxygen. This is very important the organisms most responsible for bad breath in your mouth are anaerobic bacteria—meaning they breed and thrive in oxygen depleted environments. Saliva discourages the growth of these organisms and thus is a natural bad breath cure.
Once you understand the true bad breath cause, it is much easier to begin taking steps to control the bacteria and waste responsible for your halitosis and bad breath problems. Be wary of any information or website that tries to make contributing factors, such as smoking or alcohol, out to be the bad breath cause as this is misleading information that will make it more difficult to actually eliminate the problem.
For an all natural product that helps stimulate salivation as well as help kill the harmful anaerobic bacteria inside your mouth, try OraMD®.
