Bad breath is embarrassing and can cause anxiety. Many over the counter products mask bad breath but these products are only temporary measures because they don’t address the cause of the problem.Bad dental hygiene and certain foods are the main the causes of bad breath. In most cases, you can improve bad breath with a proper dental hygiene routine. If this does not work the Plaza Health dentist can put in place a plan to treat your bad breath.
Causes of bad breath
Causes include:
Food: Certain foods, such as onions, garlic and spices can cause bad breath. After you digest these foods, they enter your bloodstream, are carried to your lungs and affect your breath.
Tobacco: Smokers are likely to have gum disease, another source of bad breath.
Poor brushing: If you don’t brush and floss daily, food particles remain in your mouth, causing bad breath. You’ll also get a build up of plaque on your teeth. Plaque can irritate your gums and cause gum disease.
Dry mouth: Saliva helps clean your mouth. A condition called dry mouth can lead to bad breath, as you don’t have saliva to wash clean your mouth.
Infections: Bad breath can be caused by bacterial infections in the mouth, or in cavities.
How To Prevent Bad Breath
Brush + Floss
Brush your teeth at least two times a day, and if you can after each meal. Brushing cleans 60% of your teeth, to do the rest you need to floss.
Check And Clean Your Tongue
Most bad smells come from the back of your mouth. If you stick your tongue out and look do see a white or brown coating? That’s the source of bad breath. Use a tongue scraper to remove it.
Mouthwash
Mouthwash can help kill some of the bacteria that causes gum disease and bad breath. The Plaza Health dentist can provide a specialist mouthwash to do this.
Saliva
When your mouth dry, it’s not able to clean away food debris, leading to bad breath. Drinking a lot of water helps to keep you hydrated and able to produce lots of saliva.
Quit Smoking
Smoking causes severe gum disease, very bad breath and many cancers. Stopping can save your life.
Follow A Healthy Diet
Sugary foods and drinks increase the build-up of bacteria and plaque in your mouth. Plaque causes gum disease, bad breath and can lead you to losing teeth.
What’s a scale and polish?
Gum disease and bad breath is caused by plaque bacteria building up on your teeth. Proper brushing helps keep plaque at bay. But plaque can still build up on your teeth over time, no matter how well you brush. Plaque can cause bleeding gums, bad breath, and gum disease.
If left untreated gum disease can result in tooth loss! So it’s important to get your teeth cleaned regularly.
A proper clean is the first step to treating persistent bad breath. You should find that your gums stop bleeding and your breath return to normal.
What to expect from a scale and polish dental cleaning
The first stage removes the plaque and tartar that builds up on your teeth. An ultrasound scraper is used to remove most of the tartar, followed by specialised instruments to remove the remaining tartar and plaque.
The second stage is to ‘polish’ the teeth. Polishing removes stains leaving teeth clean, bright and shiny. Polishing also makes it harder for plaque build up on your teeth.
Our dentist will advise you how often you should have a scale and polish. It’s normally every 6 months.
Registered with
VHI Dental Direct Pay
