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Treating bad breath - Comprehensive information

The most common cause of bad breath (halitosis) is anaerobic oral bacteria, which produce volatile sulfur compounds and other smelly waste products. See our page on the causes of bad breath.

The best way to combat bad breath is to attack this cause by:

	Cleaning the mouth right after eating so that the amount of food available to these bacteria is minimized.
	Getting rid of these bacteria, which again can be accomplished by cleaning the mouth. (Did we already mention that?)
	Eliminating the hiding places and favorable growing environments for these anaerobic bacteria by (guess how?) cleaning the mouth.

In addition to this attack on the odor-causing bacteria, you can also combat the smelly volatile sulfur compounds. There are products available that neutralize the volatile sulfur compounds. Companies like Dr. Katz's TheraBreath, and BreathRx sell mouthwashes, toothpastes, breath mints, and chewing gums that have ingredients that quite effectively neutralize these odoriferous sulfur compounds. You can check out some of the ads down the right side of this page where some of these sponsors offer these products for sale.

Minimizing the food available to odor-causing bacteria.
These bacteria live on the same foods that you do. For as long as food particles are in the mouth, they feed on these particles and produce their waste products--the volatile sulfur compounds that we discuss on the page about that.

If you can clean your mouth thoroughly after each time you eat, you cut off their food supply and can thus help eliminate halitosis. Every time you eat, food debris remains in your mouth for long periods of time--stuck between your teeth, microscopic particles lodged on the rough surface of your tongue, and incorporated into the sticky plaque that grows on your teeth.

We'd like to make two additional points about this:

	When you snack between meals, you feed these bacteria. If you can minimize your snacking, you can go a long way toward keeping these bacteria under control.
	The foods that help create the smelly sulfur-containing compounds are proteins. If you are on a high-protein diet, you are going to tend to promote bad breath, unless you are cleaning your mouth very thoroughly.

Cleaning your mouth to help eliminate bad breath

Cleaning your mouth after every time you eat accomplishes several wonderful things in combating oral malodor.

Some, though not all, of these odor-causing bacteria live in the dental plaque that sticks to your teeth, both above and below the gumline. If you get rid of the plaque, you get rid of the bacteria, plain and simple. To effectively remove this plaque, you need three things:

	The first is a thorough brushing with a soft toothbrush. (Read our page about toothbrushes.) The reason you want a soft brush is that you want a brush that will get into the crevices--the crevice between your teeth and the gums, and the crevices between your teeth. The bristles on stiff brushes don't bend enough to get into these tight spaces.
	Then you need to floss. There are usually great accumulations of plaque between your teeth (especially under the gums between your teeth) that your brush can't reach.
	Finally, clean your tongue. The rough surface of the tongue, especially toward the back of the tongue, harbors great numbers of odor-causing bacteria. You can brush your tongue with an ordinary toothbrush. You can also get special tongue-cleaning toothbrushes and tongue scrapers from companies such as those who advertise on this page. There are also special toothpastes for treating bad breath, available from these same companies.

By removing the plaque, you are also disrupting the growing environment for odor-causing bacteria. The bacteria that cause oral malodor are anaerobic bacteria—bacteria that prefer to live in the absence of oxygen. The sticky film of plaque keeps oxygen away from them. Remove the plaque, and you allow oxygen in, which can kill these bacteria.

Professional help in treating bad breath

Your family dentist can help in treating halitosis. An ordinary dental prophylaxis (cleaning) removes calculus from around your teeth and under your gums. When calculus is present, it's impossible for you to completely clean your teeth by yourself.

In addition, a screening for gum disease can be helpful. Gum disease by itself can contribute to bad breath.

Your dentist or dental hygienist can also give you a professional opinion about the condition of your breath. While they may be reluctant to mention it otherwise, if you ask, they can give you the honest feedback about your oral odor that your friends and family may be unwilling to give.

In addition to this regular professional care, there are some dentists who are developing a special interest in breath treatment. These dentists will often mention this either in a yellow pages ad or on the practice web site. If you have a serious bad breath problem, check with a dentist who has had special training in treating this. He or she will likely have special tongue cleaning tools and halitosis treatment products that can be quite helpful to you.

Other bad breath topics:

	Bad breath mints - When mints are bad for your breath and when they are good.
	Treating bad breath with tongue cleaning - the technique, and where to get the tools.