10 Surprising Causes of Bad Breath
Just about all of us wakes up in the morning with a stale taste in our mouth. It's a horrible reminder of everything we ate in the hours before bedtime - the chili dog with extra onions; garlic breadsticks; salt and vinegar potato chips - you get the picture. But while it's easy to blame bad breath on certain foods, the cause can be something completely different. Here is a look at 10 surprising causes of bad breath.
1. Skipping Breakfast in the Morning
There is nothing more chaotic than getting yourself and family ready in the mornings. And if you're always rushing out the door, you may forget about breakfast. In fact, about 18% of Americans over the age of two regularly skip breakfast. But while skipping breakfast may get us to work five or ten minutes earlier, it doesn't help our breath.
There is a surprising explanation for this phenomenon. Morning breath in particularly is caused by a decrease in saliva production. Saliva cleanses the mouth of odor-causing bacteria. The more we eat and talk, the more saliva our mouth produces. Since we do neither at night, bacteria sits in our mouth for eight straight hours.
Some oral health experts suggest that people who forget to eat in the morning also forget to brush their teeth (I know, gross). And because they don't brush their teeth in the morning, odor-causing bacteria stays in their mouth all day upsetting anyone within arm's reach.
2. Losing Weight on a Low-Carb Diet
A low-carb diet can jumpstart weight loss and help you lose up to 15 pounds in two weeks. Typically, our bodies burn carbs first, then fats and then proteins. Therefore, if you have less than 14 days to get ready for swimsuit season, banishing bread, pasta, cereal and other carbs from your diet might be the ticket to a new physical appearance. But while friends and family may praise your transformation, they may also cringe every time you open your mouth.
As if losing weight isn't already hard, you now have to deal with the side effects of a low carb diet - namely bad breath. Your body compensates for the fact that you're consuming fewer carbohydrates. As a result, it starts to burn stored fat for fuel. In response to this, chemicals known as ketones accumulate in your body, and then leave your body through breath and urine.
As you may have already guessed, it's not the most pleasant odor. You might be able to mask the scent by drinking water or chewing sugarless gum. If not, you'll have to decide between the lesser of two evils - offensive breath or a few extra pounds.
3. The Aging Process
If you hate family gatherings because you know you'll get seated next to a certain older relative with the stinky breath, playing sick and ditching the festivities might save your sanity and nose. But don't immediately blame Uncle Bob's halitosis on poor dental hygiene, it might have a lot to do with his age.
Our saliva glands produce about one to three pints of saliva a day. It's a wonder we don't choke. But given how often we swallow, we don't notice the amount of liquid in our mouth.
Saliva is about 98% water, but also contains electrolytes, mucus, enzymes and antibacterial properties. It's a good defense against bad breath since it cleanses the mouth of food and bacteria. Unfortunately, our saliva production decreases as we age - with about 25% of older people complaining of dry mouth. So rather than shun Uncle Bob, offer him gum or a mint.
4. Constipation
Some people believe they're constipated if they don't have a bowel movement every day. But actually, constipation means fewer than three bowel movements a week or passing hard, painful stools.
The fact that constipation can be linked to bad breath isn't the most comforting thought, especially since your breath will probably smell like feces.
You'll be happy to know that feces-odor breath isn't typical when constipation is caused by something simple, such as eating too many peanuts or drinking too little water. This odor, however, is common when constipation is a symptom of intestinal obstruction, where a blockage of the small intestines stops the removal of waste from the body.
5. Hormonal Changes Like Menstrual Cycle
As females, we have enough to deal with during our menstrual cycles, such as water weight, tiredness, unhealthy cravings and irritability. Add worrying about bad breath to the list - and our partners bringing this to our attention - and it's enough to push us over the edge.
You may blame toxic breath on the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos you just ate, but this is just part of the problem. Researchers found that hormonal changes in women can increase bacteria in the mouth. This change affects our "oral ecosystem" and causes bad breath at certain times in our life - pregnancy, menstruation and menopause.
6. Dealing with Stress or Anxiety
Stress can cause a fast heartbeat, sweaty palms and headaches. We've all experienced this, perhaps just before getting up to speak in front of a large group. However, dry mouth is also common when under stress, which might explain why some of us can't get through a presentation without a glass of water.
Saliva is produced by different glands in the mouth. Glands in the side of the mouth create runny saliva, and glands in the lower mouth create thick saliva. When we deal with stress, our mouth stops producing runny saliva. This results in a mouth full of thick saliva, and thick saliva doesn't clean the mouth as well as runny saliva, creating the perfect environment for bacteria.
7. Rinsing with Mouthwash
You may rinse with mouthwash to destroy embarrassing odor before anyone notices. But you might make your bad breath worst.
Mouthwash kills germs and quickly freshens breath, but according to experts, "the bad breath you wanted to prevent gets even worse." This is because mouthwashes contain alcohol, which can cause dry mouth. And we're not talking about a little drop in the bucket. The average mouthwash has 25 percent alcohol - that's about four or five times the amount of alcohol in beer.
8. Taking Certain Medications
Some prescription drugs have crazy, off the wall side-effects, such as amnesia, rainbow urination, hallucination and sleepwalking. If you're prescribed a medication with unusual side effects, you might feel that you're better off playing Russian roulette with natural remedies - and maybe you are.
However, drug side effects aren't always weird - sometimes, they're just simply embarrassing. And certain prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet might cause bad breath. Antidepressants, antihistamines, decongestants and some meds to lower high blood pressure not only treat the health problem, they also decrease the flow of saliva in your mouth.
9. Medical Conditions and Diseases
Bad breath can be a sign of gum disease and many other oral health problems - that's a no brainer. However, the scent of your breath can also be a sign of other health issues. This includes minor concerns, such as post nasal drip, a cold or a sinus infection, as well as serious health concerns.
Kidney problems can cause a buildup of waste in the bloodstream and produce ammonia-like or fishy breath. And if you haven't had anything to drink, yet your breath smells like alcohol, this can be a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis. As crazy as it may sound, bad breath can also be a sign of some cancers. If you can't brush, floss or rinse away your bad breath, see a doctor.
10. Pseudo-halitosis
We all have bad breath from time to time, and depending on how serious the problem is, some people discuss this with a dentist or doctor. However, before a doctor can provide treatment, he or she must first smell a patient's breath to identify the odor.
Sometimes, doctors are unable to detect an odor. Could the patient be having a "good bad breath" day? Perhaps. But there is also a chance that bad breath only exists in the person's mind. It's called pseudo-halitosis. This isn't a word we hear everyday, but these people think they have chronic bad breath, despite the fact that their breath smells normal. Since doctors can't treat a condition that doesn't exist, these people are often referred to psychologist.
