Banish bad breath
Having bad breath is such a social stigma that the breath freshener industry is worth millions and millions. If you have bad breath in Berkshire, don’t just rely on sprays and lozenges to hide it, come and see your dentist and make sure that there is nothing serious lurking behind your dragon’s breath.
At Old Windsor Dental Practice, we like to make sure that bad breath is not a symptom of something more serious.
Before you come to us
There are two common causes for bad breath that you can try doing something about before you come to us:
- Poor oral hygiene – are you cleaning your teeth often enough for long enough? Clean for two minutes twice a day and use floss and a mouthwash. Also, come and have a scale and polish with the hygienist. You may find that will get rid of your problem.
- Change your diet – some foods, such as onions and garlic, get into the bloodstream and the smell of them comes into the lungs and out. Try giving them a miss when you eat and see if that clears your breath up.
- You can also try giving up smoking and drinking and see if your breath improves.
What we can check for
If neither of those seem to be the problem, it’s time to come to us. We can look for:
- Trapped food – sometimes food can get trapped between the teeth, or in pockets between the teeth and the gums. This starts to rot causing bad breath. We can make sure you don’t have any food trapped;
- Infections – infections under the gum also cause bad breath. You may be on the way to an abscess and not yet know about it;
- Dry mouth – if you don’t produce enough saliva, the types of bacteria in your mouth change and can build up in numbers, causing bad breath;
- Gut problems – bad breath can also sometimes be caused by infections in the stomach or small intestine;
- Other problems – bad breath can also be a symptom of diabetes, infections in the lung, nose and throat.
If we cannot find out what is wrong, we will refer you to a doctor.
