Halitosis: how to eliminate bad breath without the need for tricks or potions. In 90% of cases, its origin is in the mouth and more than half of them are related to gum disease. Halitosis is not a problem of just a few.
According to a report from the Spanish Society of Periodontics and Osseointegration (SEPA), approximately one third of adults have or have had bad breath.
Therefore, it is a widespread problem that is little talked about.
People with halitosis tend to treat this pathology as a taboo subject and, together with the difficulty of assessing on our own and objectively whether we suffer from it, has led us to create many myths around it and to search the Internet for tricks and home remedies in the hope of masking it.
Fortunately, modern dentistry has effective solutions to eliminate bad breath.
It is commonly thought that bad breath comes from the stomach, but this is not the case.
In 90% of cases, their origin is in the mouth and more than half of them are related to gum disease, that is, gingivitis or periodontitis (“pyorrhea”).
Another good part is linked to the presence of bacteria on the back of the tongue.
Only 10% of halitosis cases have a nasopharyngeal, gastric or systemic origin, caused by diabetes, liver or lung diseases.
The appearance of bad breath is generally due to the bacterial decomposition of food particles, cells, blood and some components of saliva.
This decomposition generates gases called volatile sulfur compounds, which are the causes of halitosis.
We all produce this type of gas in our mouths, the problem arises when we produce a large amount of it.
How to check if you have bad breath?
It is difficult to find out for ourselves if our mouth gives off bad breath.
Sometimes, people with halitosis are the last to know they have it.
We are the worst evaluators of our own breath, so we are not aware of the problem unless another person lets us know, but it is not too common for this situation to arise.
So, how can we know if we have bad breath?
Apart from asking someone you trust, some situations that can make us suspect that we suffer from halitosis are the reddish or brownish color or bad smell of the dental floss after using it, or noticing a whitish layer on the back of the tongue.
But we would be talking about indications since the only sure way to know if we suffer from halitosis is to go to our dental clinic.
Through a professional diagnosis, dentists can objectively determine if a person has bad breath and why.
For this reason we have some tools, at Clínica Cervera, for example, we have an advanced technology called OralChroma that allows us to quickly and reliably know if the origin of bad breath comes from the mouth, which helps us choose the specific treatment that each person needs.
What to do to eliminate bad breath If we suffer from halitosis, we must start with the simplest and most important part: good oral hygiene.
We must pay special attention to cleaning the tongue and interproximal spaces, with dental floss or interproximal brushes.
We should also go to our dentist to rule out the existence of any oral disease that may be causing bad breath, such as tooth decay or periodontal disease.
These are the first steps we must take to eliminate bad breath and those that, in the vast majority of cases, will lead us to the solution. + info: http://www.clinicacervera.es/ca/halitosi