Why does your breath smell?!

Everyone has had bad breath at least once. Whether it’s from when you wake up in the morning, from something you ate, or something that just won’t get away. Bad breath is a problem that is faced in our lives daily. For instance, you don’t want to have bad breath when you kiss someone, talk to someone, or go to an interview, etc. We have all been through it once, and we try to avoid it or tell them by offering them peppermints/gum, rubbing our noses, or just avoiding that person. It is hard to tell if you have bad breath if you are used to it, but there are methods to check if you have bad breath. Another reason why you don’t realize you have bad breath is because when you breathe you use your throat differently from when you talk (source). A sure way to test if your breath is minty fresh is through the lick test, scrap test, or dental floss test. Breathing in your palms won’t cut it.

Bad breath is caused by an overgrowth of bacteria on the surface of your tongue, also known as halitosis. The awful odor you smell is made by bacteria that bury themselves in your mouth, producing a build-up on the surface of your tongue and in between your teeth. The dead, dying, rotting, and fermenting bacteria cells from your oral cavity release a sulfur compound that gives your breath an unpleasant odor.

The most common time you find yourself having bad breath is when you wake up.

While you sleep, your salivary glands don’t function as much and provides your mouth with a lesser amount of bacteria – making your mouth dry. In a dry environment, bacteria are able to grow and generate the highly unpleasant area. This is why you should brush your teeth in the morning! If you allow the plaque in your mouth to build up, the plaque will create pockets that accumulate more food – allowing bacteria to thrive.

Honestly, most people only brush their teeth for no more than 45 seconds. In order to sufficiently clean the surfaces of your teeth, you should brush your teeth at least twice a day – for at least two minutes. Bacteria love to hang out on your tongue and between your teeth. So like your dentists tell you, don’t forget to floss or else you’ll cause a build-up of food and plaque between your teeth.

Another instance where you can have bad breath is because of dehydration. Long story short, as the amount of your saliva decreases means increasing the amount of bacteria in your mouth. This is also why people who smoke tobacco tend to have an unpleasant smell. Gross, right? So be sure to keep yourself hydrated (source)!

There are several myths to treat halitosis. These may consist of mouthwash, mints, and gum. Although they can make your mouth feel fresh, they do little to fix the main cause of bad breath (source). However, depending on the severity of the situation, certain dentist recommended toothpastes and mouthwashes can prevent the build-up of plaque which can prevent bad breath. Research shows that those containing cetylpyridinium chloride and those with chlorhexidine can prevent production of odors that cause bad breath. Other active ingredients, such as chlorine dioxide and zinc, are good at neutralizing odor-causing bacterial byproducts (source).

With this said, I heard that if you don’t brush your teeth before you eat, you can get cancer. Do you guys think this is true? Perhaps the build-up of bacteria and plaque is harmful to our system. Perhaps it’s just another myth. What do you guys think?