What causes bad breath and halitosis really?

What causes bad breath and halitosis really?

Many products have been marketed for the treatment of bad breath (also known as halitosis). These products include;

Mouthwash

Toothpaste

Baking Soda

Sprays, mints and gums

These products only treat bad breath / halitosis temporarily. What is not known about bad breath is that it is more than a simple annoyance. Bad breath most often starts at the back of the tongue and this huge accumulation of plague can affect the health of the gum tissues. Gum disease can also be a cause of bad breath. In minor cases, products such as mouthwash or toothpaste might help, but in most cases, this is not enough and can make the halitosis worse.

Although baking soda does kill oral bacteria and inactivates acids, acids are not the problem in the depths of a periodontal pocket nor at the deeper layers of the bacterial plaque on the back of the tongue. In the pocket and at the deeper layers of the bacteria at the back of the tongue where bad breath comes from, the pH is alkaline, not acidic. Neutralizing the acid on the surface of the bacterial plaque of the back of the tongue with baking soda serves to make the plaque more alkaline. The baking soda does not reach the deeper layers of that plaque on the back of the tongue to do any killing. The bacterial killing of baking soda in the gum tissue can be useful, but baking soda is not something I recommend. It pushes the mouth into an alkaline pH, which is the opposite direction one wants to put the pH to prevent halitosis or gum diseases, which thrive in this basic and putrefactive environment. The mouth must have a slightly acidic pH to prevent bad breath / halitosis.

Peroxide is also ineffective in preventing halitosis. Peroxides are oxygenating agents which can produce harmful free radicals and have been of concern to some health professionals when used for long periods of time in the presence of chroniccly inflamed tissue. Gum tissues are usually chronically inflamed and therefore are susceptible to negative effects of peroxides which can cause adverse cell changes to occur. Peroxides are also too quickly inactivated to do any antibacterial work at the concentrations they have in toothpastes. The approach I tend to favor in treating halitosis and gum disease is not primarily bacterial killing but instead the preservation of natural bacterial balance and then oxidizing, (not oxygenating), the VSCs that cause the odor. These VSCs also increase the permeability of the gum tissue pocket lining promoting bacterial invasion. I recommend oxidation of VSCs and zinc ion therapy contained in the products I recommend. I therefore believe three of the ingredients that should NOT be added to toothpastes and mouth rinses are baking soda, peroxide and alcohol! Unfortunately, almost all major toothpaste and mouthwash makers are jumping on the misguided baking soda and peroxide band wagon. Some of the mouthwashes contain very high levels of alcohol, from 8% to 25%. Alcohols can be harmful and I strongly urge consumers to stay away from them. They certainly can make bad breath worse.

Smoking too can make bad breath worse. Smoking and chewing tobacco dry out the mouth and again produce adverse tissue dryness and plasma secretions which are broken down by bacteria into volatile organic compounds. Anything which dries the mouth can promote bad breath, including some prescription drugs, alcohol consumption and some systemic diseases. Dry mouth can be caused by sinus congestion and nasal blockages. Rhinitis and nasal drainage also cause bad breath. Even dieting and diabetes can cause odor. These types of problems may require a physicians help but these products can still be of some help to these individuals. But remember again, the vast majority of halitosis comes from the mouth.