Solving the mystery of bad breath
Do you know how big the breath freshener industry is? It’s huge. Billions of pounds are spent every year by people trying to cover up their bad breath. And that’s ok if it’s a matter of too much garlic on top of a few too many boutique gins (no gin if you’re driving, mind), but it’s never going to do anything but mask other problems.
If you have bad breath and you can’t link it to something you ate, and you’re not a smoker, then maybe you need to get yourself along to us at Old Windsor Dental Practice and see if we can find out what is behind your problem.
Oral health and bad breath
Bad breath is most often caused by something not being quite right with your oral health routine. We can take a good look at your teeth and gums and see if you are harbouring a build-up of plaque and tartar, which can lead to bad breath. A good session with the dental hygienist could well clear up the problem and that is a good place to start.
Food traps
It’s a sad fact that as we get older, our gums can start to recede and we can develop little gaps between our teeth around the gumline. We will check your teeth to find out if you have any gaps that have developed between them where food is getting trapped and starting to putrefy. It could be that all you need is to start using interdental brushes to clean out between your teeth.
Infections
Sometimes bad breath is an indicator that something else is going on. Maybe you have developed tooth decay that has not yet progressed to being painful but is affecting the air that passes over the decaying tooth. You may also be host to an infection that you are not yet aware of.
Something else going on
Once we are sure all of the above are not the reason, we can start to look at other possible causes, such as infections in the throat, bronchi and lungs, as well as the sinuses.
