Recent research indicates that such chemicals as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, as well as dimethyl sulfide contribute to bad breath. Collectively this group of chemicals is known as volatile sulfuric compounds. You may see them at times referred to by their abbreviation: VSC.
These chemicals are produced by anaerobic bacteria, which are found mostly on the back of the tongue. Think of bacteria as miniature living, breathing creatures. That essentially is what bacteria is.
They spend their lives “eating” or taking in nourishment, much like we do and then excreting the wastes. The waste products of these anaerobic bacteria are the VSC I’ve just mentioned.
So you’re probably beginning to get a better idea why I’m talking not only about the Halimeter right about now, but tying it in with the life cycle of your bacteria and the resulting VSC waste.
Think about the smell of a rotten egg? Once you smell this distinctive odor you’ll always recognize it. This specific — and unique — smell is caused by the sulfur compound hydrogen sulfide.
And yes, now that you mention it, it really is the same smell that comes from feed lots as well as barnyards due to the sulfur compound methyl mercaptan.
Another sulfur smell comes — if you’re familiar with it — the smell of the ocean. This particular smell is due to the presence of dimethyl sulfide.
Each of these various types of sulfur compounds, by the way, is also excreted as a waste product by the bacteria that like to live in our mouths.
Bad breath in infants does happen. Ensure good dental hygiene and breath care even for your young ones and avoid problems with childhood halitosis later on.
Parents should take their babies to the pediatric dentist as soon as they have their first tooth.
You can clean their mouth as a young baby, straight after bringing them home from hospital
The gums can be cleaned soft damp cloth or a soft bristled infant toothbrush. Once the baby grows teeth, brushing should take place twice per day using an adequately sized soft toothbrush and toothpaste that contains fluoride.
If the child is less than two years old, only a very small smear of toothpaste should be used.
A pea-sized drop of toothpaste should be used with two to five year olds.
Young children aren’t great at brushing their teeth so adults should help out. You can make the whole tooth brushing process really fun.
Dental problems like baby bottle tooth decay can occur very early.
Proper dental care for babies includes cleaning their gums from birth, brushing teeth as soon as one begins showing and beginning regular dental visits as soon as the baby cuts the first tooth.
Parents will need to assist young children with tooth brushing until the toddlers are able to do it properly themselves. And look out for any potential problems like bad breath or tooth decay. If adults are careful with dental care and hygenie for babies and children, there are likely to be less dental issues in later years.
Also, make sure they have a diet rich in calcium.
You can find other sources of calcium not just in milk. Calcium-rich foods include calcium-fortified soy products, orange juice, and bread. Other calcium-filled foods white beans, almonds, bok choy, cooked rhubarb, red beans, English muffin, cooked broccoli, cooked kale, cooked, okra, cheese pizza, cooked beet greens, collared greens, oranges, pancakes, some ready to eat cereals, taco salad, sardines with bones and canned salmon with bones.
There are natural home remedies for bad breath.
Here is a great article by expert Dan on what to do step-by-step in curing bad breath
Bad Breath Checklist – What to Look For and Who to Turn to For Help If You Suffer From Bad Breath
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Dan_G]Dan G
I think everyone has probably gone through the same trials and errors when it comes to curing bad breath. I know I personally tried a lot of the so called bad breath cures out there at least once in my life back when I was still suffering from bad breath. In fact, there’s a lot of good information one can find on the internet about bad breath and possible cures, but it’s scattered and spread out. That’s why I wanted to make a bad breath checklist for those who are trying to tackle this problem. I wish I had some kind of checklist back when I began my search for a cure. Hopefully this will help someone who is just starting their journey! I tried to make this list so you could just go down and check off the things that you have already tried, and focus in on the things you haven’t. So without further ado, I give you my bad breath checklist.
1.) First, and probably the easiest and most often tried, is to maintain proper oral hygiene.
This includes:
a) Brush your teeth at least twice a day. You can try whatever toothpaste you like. There are hundreds of them out there, some better than others. Try the inexpensive ones first. If those don’t work then move on to the more expensive ones that are marketed specifically towards curing bad breath.
b) If you are going to use any kind of mouthwash, you should choose an alcohol free one, as alcohol dries out the mouth which can exacerbate bad breath. Try to go for one that has natural ingredients or herbs. Again, start with the cheaper ones and then work your way up if it’s not working.
c) It’s important to clean your toothbrush with some kind of antiseptic, such as hydrogen peroxide. The mouth is a dirty place, with tons of bacteria. If you are not disinfecting your toothbrush after brushing, you are just letting all those bacteria and germs from your mouth multiply on your brush. Think about putting that back in your mouth 12 hours later! Not a good idea. Even with cleaning your toothbrush, it’s important to buy a new one every 30 days.
d) Don’t forget to brush the tongue, including the area towards the back. You might have a gag reflex at first, but try and look at yourself in the mirror while doing it, and make sure you are not hitting the dangly thing that hangs down in between your tonsils (I know, so scientific). If you can avoid hitting that your gag reflex won’t be so bad.
e) Using a tongue scraper will help remove whatever leftover food particles and bacteria that your brush can’t get. Place the tongue scraper on the back of your tongue and then gently pull it towards the front. Wash it off and then repeat the process. Don’t scrape it too hard though! You can damage your tongue, or make it bleed, which you don’t want. Just scrape it gently.
f) If you have an electronic water pic, or some kind of syringe that can squirt water, you can use this to clear any leftover food or debris out of your tonsils or around your wisdom teeth in the back of your mouth. Sometimes food and other gunk can get trapped in these areas, so it’s important to clean them out often.
g) FLOSS BETWEEN YOUR TEETH. You should be doing this both in the morning and at night before bed. You should also do it after you eat. I can’t stress how important this is.
2.) If your bad breath still persists, it’s time to visit the dentist.
Make sure you ask about the following:
a) First, it’s important to get a proper cleaning every six months. Ask your dentist if they offer the deep cleaning service, which is more thorough than a regular cleaning. I don’t know about you, but I actually like getting a cleaning from the dentist. My mouth always feels super fresh afterwards. Also, your dentist will be able to see any problems you might have while doing your cleaning, such as cavities or gum disease. Which lead me too…
b) Ask your dentist to check for cavities, gum disease, impacted teeth, a tooth infection, etc. All of these can cause bad breath so it’s important to ask your dentist to check for them. If you have any metal fillings in your mouth from previous cavities, have them removed and replaced with clear fillings. Some research has linked metal fillings to mercury poisoning, so best to have them replaced.
c) If you still have your wisdom teeth, ask your dentist to remove them (and I mean all of them). Food particles can get stuck back there around your wisdom teeth which can cause bad breath. Also, if your wisdom teeth are impacted or infected, that could be the reason for your bad breath. I don’t really think the wisdom teeth serve any purpose. You won’t miss them, so I say get those suckers taken out if you have bad breath! After you have them taken out, make sure you are flushing out the open wounds with water to remove any food, dried up blood, and other gunk that can get stuck in them. Use an electric water pic or syringe to flush them out.
3.) If the dentist doesn’t solve the problem, your next route should be an ENT doctor.
Ask them about the following:
a) Check to make sure that you don’t have sinusitis. Sinusitis is a condition in which the sinuses become inflamed due to a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection. It may also be caused by allergic or autoimmune issues. This could be a cause of your bad breath. Usually you would be able to tell if you had a sinus infection, but maybe your case is mild. It’s best to have an ENT doctor check just to make sure. Also, ask your doctor to take a culture swab from your sinuses and check it for both bacteria AND fungus. Doctors are increasingly finding that fungal sinusitis is more common than they once thought. If they are only checking for bacterial sinusitis, then they might miss something.
b) Tell your ENT doctor if you have post nasal drip, as this is a common cause of bad breath. Post-nasal drip (PND) occurs when excessive mucus is produced by the sinuses. The excess mucus builds up in the throat or back of the nose. It can be caused by rhinitis (allergic or non-allergic), sinusitis (acute or chronic), laryngopharyngeal acid reflux (with or without heartburn), or by a disorder of swallowing (such as an esophageal motility disorder). It is frequently caused by allergies, which may be seasonal or persistent through the year, depending on the allergen(s) involved. Birth control pills or pregnancy can also cause post-nasal drip because of the elevated levels of estrogen hormones. Be careful though, because your doctor might prescribe you a medicine that will reduce the amount of mucous that’s produced. While this drying up effect may seem good, it can also dry out your mouth, which can lead to bad breath. See if your doctor has any other solutions for dealing with post nasal drip.
c) Make sure that you don’t have any blockages in your sinuses. Your ENT doctor should be able to verify this by either a visual examination or through x-rays or CT scan. Of course CT scan is the most revealing, so i’d go for that, but it’s also the most expensive. X-rays or visual inspection might have to suffice if your insurance won’t pay for the CT scan. If you do have any blockages, your ENT doctor can easily remove them.
d) Finally, you should ask your ENT doctor about your tonsils. Your tonsils could be the cause of your bad breath if they are prone to infection, or they collect food particles which turn into Tonsil Stones (Tonsilloliths). Tonsil stones are irregularly shaped, whitish/yellow, foul-smelling globs of mucus and bacteria that get caught in the back of the throat. They form in the crevices of your tonsils. There’s a possibility these could be causing your bad breath, so it’s important to have your tonsils checked out by an ENT doctor.
4.) If the ENT doctor is unable to find the cause of your bad breath, it’s time to move on to the gastrointestinal doctor.
I’m a bit biased here because this is the doctor who found the cause of my bad breath and subsequently cured me.
a) If you are suffering from any kind of acid reflux (GERD) a gastrointestinal doctor is the doctor that you should see. Sometimes acid reflux can be the cause of bad breath because food mixed with your stomach acid can travel back up into your esophagus causing pain, inflammation, and damage to the esophageal sphincter and wall. If there is damage to the esophageal sphincter which is supposed to close off your esophagus from your stomach, odor from your stomach could be traveling back up through your esophagus and out of your mouth. Most likely the doctor will prescribe you proton pump inhibitors, such as omeprazole, lansoprazole, rabeprazole, pantoprazole, esomeprazole, or Zegarid, a rapid release form of omeprazole. These drugs will reduce the amount of stomach acid that you produce, which will give your esophageal sphincter and wall a chance to heal.
b) Next you should ask your gastrointestinal doctor to do an Esophagogram to make sure that your esophagus is functioning properly. When I say functioning properly, I mean that it is moving the food down your throat and into your stomach in a normal pattern. This exam also evaluates your swallowing function. After all, if your swallowing function is not normal, or your esophagus cannot move all of the food into your stomach, this small amount of food could start to break down in your lower esophagus and give off odors that could come back out of your mouth. During this examination, you will drink a barium liquid and the doctor will take x-rays while you swallow. They will take several x-rays as the barium liquid travels down your esophagus. After you finish, they should be able to detect if you have any ulcerations or masses in your esophagus, if you have smooth mucosal folds, if you have any gastro-esophageal varices, or if you have a hiatal hernia. Basically they will be able to tell if your esophagus is functioning normally and moving food down into your stomach without any problems.
c) Tell your gastrointestinal doctor if you think you suffer from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Crohn’s Disease, Leaky gut syndrome, or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. You can do a google search on all of those conditions to find the symptoms, but as their names suggest, they are disorders of the bowels (intestines). All of these illnesses could play a part in your bad breath, so it’s important to be checked by your doctor to see if you have any of these illnesses.
d) Next (and this was my cure) you should ask your gastrointestinal doctor about a possible Candida infection. Candida is a yeast that is present in everyone’s body. For some people however this yeast goes crazy and starts to overgrow and cause problems. When it overgrows, it usually turns into it’s dangerous fungal form. When in it’s fungal form, it can affect any part of the body such as the intestines, esophagus, mouth, sinuses, skin, nails, etc. It can even travel into the bloodstream, although that’s very rare and quite serious. The cause of my bad breath was a Candida infection in my esophagus (which i’ve written about extensively on my bad breath blog). My doctor was able to find this because she did an upper endoscopy on me and saw the Candida all up and down the wall of my esophagus. After I was diagnosed with Candida, I was prescribed an antifungal which I took for 14 days. After I finished with my treatment, my Candida infection cleared up and my bad breath went away. For anyone who is suffering from bad breath, I encourage you to ask your doctor to test you for Candida some way or some how. Either through blood test, stool test, or upper/lower endoscopy. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody, so don’t let your doctor tell you that Candida is make believe or it only affects people who are immunocompromised. That is simply an inaccurate statement.
5.) If all of the previous doctors fail, perhaps an Immunologist will be able to help you.
Ask your Immunologist for the following:
a) You should have a food allergy test done. Perhaps your bad breath is caused by an intolerance to dairy products, or grain products, or some other kind of food. Often in life we eat a lot of food that makes us feel sick or bloated, but we just kinda ignore it, take some over the counter medicine, and call it a day. That’s not the way to go. If eating ice cream is making you get diarrhea or constipation, or if eating grains is causing you to get an upset tummy, you should check with the doctor to see if you have an intolerance or allergy to them! It doesn’t have to just be dairy or grains though. You could have an intolerance or allergy to almost anything you eat, so it’s best to get this checked out.
6.) Believe it or not, a General Practitioner may be able to help you.
Ask your General Practitioner to test you for the following:
a) You should check yourself for Diabetes. Diabetes occurs because the body can’t use glucose properly, either owing to a lack of the hormone insulin, or because the insulin available doesn’t work effectively. There is some supposition that blood glucose levels and bad breath are related. The excess glucose in the system may make it harder for the body to rinse away germs and bacteria, both of which are leading causes of mouth odor. Also, most people who have diabetes find that they also have severe cases of dry mouth because most diabetics are often very dehydrated; they are always thirsty and urinate frequently. This dry mouth can cause bad breath too. Also, diabetics can develop ketoacidosis, in which the body starts burning fatty acids for fuel rather than carbs. While this is rare and extremely dangerous, it can cause bad breath. However, ketoacidosis can be life threatening for diabetics, so usually they will be treated for it urgently.
b) Next, ask your GP doctor if they could check your cortisol levels. A cortisol test is done to measure the level of the hormone cortisol in the blood. Cortisol is basically your body’s “stress” hormone. It is produced when you come under a stressful situation or a threatening experience. It is responsible for the “fight or flight” response that happens during one of these situations. Sometimes this hormone is good because it protects you during one of these stressful situations, but if cortisol levels remain elevated in your body for long periods of time, it can have detrimental effects. Higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream (like those associated with chronic stress) have been shown to have negative effects, such as: Impaired cognitive performance, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, decreased bone density, decrease in muscle tissue, higher blood pressure, lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, dry mouth, and other health consequences. Of course, bad breath is a symptom of a larger problem within your body. If you are constantly under stress, then your body cannot heal itself, and your bad breath will not go away. Have your cortisol checked to see if you are within the normal range.
7.) If you have gone through all the medical doctors, and you are still unable to find the cause of your bad breath, then maybe it’s time to turn to alternative therapies.
Try these following alternative therapies:
a) If you are able to find a naturopath (a doctor who specializes in alternative medicine) maybe they would be able to help you. Naturopaths are generally not able to prescribe prescription medication, however they are extremely knowledgeable in natural herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other possible treatments for bad breath. Sometimes they can also perform tests on their patients as well, such as food allergy tests, Candida tests, Gut Fermentation Tests, etc. Sometimes Naturopaths are more open to listen to their patients as they might not have an overinflated ego. While I have much respect for Naturopaths, I would urge caution and careful judgement when choosing one. Unfortunately, some Naturopaths are only interested in playing off their patients fears and then selling them some super expensive therapy that has little scientific research or evidence to back it up. Basically, you should feel comfortable with your Naturopath, just as you should with your medical doctor. If at anytime you feel like you are being ripped off or swindled, you should just see someone else. But for the most part I think most Naturopaths have good intentions, just as most doctors do. Just see what your Naturopath recommends!
b) If you can’t find a naturopath, then you could try going to a health food store in your area and buying some natural herbs or supplements there. Usually health food store owners are quite knowledgeable as well, and might be able to offer you some assistance. Just tell them sometimes you have bad breath, and you’d like to know if they have any products they could recommend. Again, I’d do your own research before you buy any natural product. Not because I don’t believe in them, but just because some natural products are better than others, and some are just expensive crap with fancy labels.
c) If you can’t find a Naturopath, and you don’t have a health food store in your area, then just spend your time browsing the internet for possible alternative (and/or medical) therapies. With the invention of the internet, you can pretty much buy anything online now, and have it shipped directly to your house! As always, do your research before you hit that order button though.
8.) Finally, a psychiatrist might be able to help you if all the previous medical doctors and alternative therapies fail.
a) Halitophobia is real. While I hate to mention it, I must admit that some people do indeed suffer from it. The reason I hate to mention it is because if anyone had told me I had halitophobia back when I had bad breath, I would have been so mad at them. I think when trying to figure out if you have bad breath or not, the only way you can know 100% is if someone just flat out tells you. Sure, you can know by indirect comments that people make, or the reactions you get from people when you are speaking to them or near them. But one thing i’ve learned is people react differently to different people. Just because someone rubs their nose when your talking to them, or they offer you a piece of chewing gum, that doesn’t mean 100% that you have bad breath. Sometimes a person’s nose just itches. And usually if I am going to chew a piece of gum, if my friends are around I will offer them a piece too, even if they don’t have bad breath. It’s called being polite. Now some reactions or comments are obviously more blatant. My only advice here would be to step back, really analyze the situation, compare it to other situations, ask yourself would you do or say the same thing, and try to look at it objectively. Regardless of whether you have halitophobia or not, a psychiatrist can at least be someone that you trust in and talk to about your problem. There’s no doubt that bad breath, whether real or imagined, causes anxiety or depression. If bad breath, or the fear of bad breath has got you so anxious or depressed that you can’t function in life (such as not being able to work, go to school, socialize, or meet a significant other) or if you are contemplating suicide, then I would highly recommend seeing a psychiatrist. They could possibly get you on some prescription medications that could alleviate your depression or anxiety, and possibly save your life! Plus you could just ask your psychiatrist if you have bad breath or not. I do not think all psychiatrists are evil. I don’t think their goal is to lie to patients. Just open up and be honest with them, and try to let them help you. Also, as a side note, if you are suffering from depression or anxiety, and you think you have bad breath, then there could be a connection. Either you have bad breath which has caused your depression/anxiety, or your depression/anxiety has caused your bad breath (either real or imagined). Either way a psychiatrist might be able to help you.
The above advice is my personal opinion on the steps a bad breath sufferer should take in order to pinpoint the cause of their bad breath. Your bad breath might be caused by something that is not included in the above list, but I personally feel this checklist is a good starting place for those who are lost and don’t know where to begin.
Good luck!
Copyright 2010 Dan G
Dan owns and operates [http://www.breathreset.com]http://www.breathreset.com, a website dedicated to curing bad breath.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Bad-Breath-Checklist---What-to-Look-For-and-Who-to-Turn-to-For-Help-If-You-Suffer-From-Bad-Breath&id=4419027] Bad Breath Checklist – What to Look For and Who to Turn to For Help If You Suffer From Bad Breath
Bad breath, or halitosis, is one of the most common and embarrassing health problems. And yet for years people have been using popular but ineffective bad breath cures. In fact, some of the most common home remedies for bad breath are making their breath smell even worse.
Here are five of the worst bad breath solutions:
1. Popping breath mints all day long.
Mints only mask bad breath for a few seconds, they don’t cure bad breath. Worse still, if the breath mints contain sugar, they may cause tooth decay which can often lead to even more stinky breath.
2. Constant use of mouthwash.
Gargling with mouthwash a few times a day can produce a stinky tissue or film inside the mouth that can make your bad breath smell even worse. Mouthwashes that contain alcohol increase the problem as alcohol dries out the mouth, allowing the bacteria that cause stinky breath to breed even more.
3. Switching from ordinary cigarettes to menthol flavored cigarettes.
Smoking causes bad breath and other dental problems as the tar and nicotine from cigarettes stick to your teeth, gums and tongue. But switching from standard cigarettes to menthol flavored ones make no difference as it’s not the smell of the smoke that causes the odor, it’s the bacteria that has grown within the mouth itself.
4. Brushing teeth with household cleaners.
In surveys, dentists have reported that some patients attempt to brush their teeth with all kinds of household cleaners, thinking that if they use a stronger cleaner, they can solve their bad breath problems faster. That idea ‘stinks’ if you pardon the pun. There are harsh chemicals inside household cleaning products that are not designed to be taken internally and may pose a danger to your health.
5. Avoiding social contact.
Knowing you have bad breath can make you self conscious and ruin your social life as you try and avoid facing people. But the stress of feeling embarrassed and the need to avoid human contact can actually make your bad breath. Why can stress cause bad breath? On average, a normal person secretes 1.5 liters of saliva a day. When someone is in a stressful state, the saliva flow is reduced, causing dry mouth, which is one of the most common bad breath causes. So try to keep yourself stress-free and keep up your normal active social life.
So those are the five popular bad breath remedies that don’t work. What about a bad breath solution that does work?
Here’s a treatment for halitosis taken from a medical study in Japan. Dr Kenichi Hojo of Tsurumi University in Yokohama, Japan conducted a test with 24 volunteers to find effective bad breath solutions. He found that sugarless yogurt reduced the levels of oral hydrogen sulfide (one of the compounds that cause bad breath) in up to 80% of the participants. They took about 3 ounces of the yogurt twice a day for 6 weeks.
The active bacteria in the yogurt, namely Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilius, prevented the ‘bad’ bacteria from growing and thriving.
Hydrogen sulfide (which smells like rotten eggs…poooooeyyyy!!!) is one of the Volatile Sulfur Compounds, otherwise known as VSCs which is responsible for 85-90% of bad breath cases.
Did you know that sugarless yogurt reduced the levels of oral hydrogen sulfide in 80% of participants.
But that doesn’t tell you the root cause of bad breath but it does show you that it’s possible to fight bad breath and not necessarily by going to the doctor either.
