The Burden of Bad Breath

- Do people take a step back when they are talking to you?

- Has anyone ever offered you a breath mint?

- Is there often a bad taste in your mouth?

- Do you constantly have a whitish or yellowish film coated on your tongue?

If you answered yes to any of the above, bad breath is probably a chronic problem for you and its time to consider treatment. Bad breath can affect your social and professional relationships and undermine your confidence.

Bad breath or “halitosis” can be attributed to a multitude of causes such as tooth decay, gum disease, medications, sinus infections, gastric reflux disease, lung and kidney infections etc.

A relatively longer (yet unfortunately incomplete) list of causes can be found here.

Now, of course, a visit to your dentist is essential to determine whether bad breath is due to any of the more common oral causes. A detailed medical history will be taken to rule out other causes. Corrective measures can then be undertaken. Many simple home remedies exist too.

From my Clinic Diaries:

In the last one month, I co-incidentally had four patients all of whom visited me to complain of bad breath. No dental decay or other oral disease was found. Detailed history revealed no obvious causes. Interestingly, all four patients had one thing in common- they admitted to drinking inadequate quantities of water. Two of them brushed their teeth only once a day. 

Let me introduce you to them:

Patient A, a teenage girl, simply forgets to drink water. She rushes to and fro between three-four tuition classes everyday. She feels she has time to brush once a day in the morning only, as she sleeps at 1.30am.

Patient B, a high-powered male executive, is in office from 9am - 9pm. He claims he has no time to drink water with his busy schedule.

Patient C, a young lady, works in an air-conditioned company office. She hesitates to drink water as she will have to visit the toilet several times in a day, which she is convinced she has no time for.

Patient D, a middle-aged home manager, is too busy caring for her home and children. It slips her mind that she should reach out for a glass of water even when she is cooking up a meal in the kitchen. At night, she collapses with tiredness and can't summon up the strength to brush her teeth.

My advice to you:

- Please drink water! Lots and lots of water! :) You need to have atleast 6-8 glasses of water daily. Find the time to hydrate and be healthy. Water washes away left-over food particles, and moistens the mouth making it less hospitable to odor causing bacteria. Drinking water is also good for your general health and can prevent and cure a myriad of medical conditions.

To read some of the many benefits of drinking water, please click here. 

- Brush twice daily.