Have you ever found yourself wondering, ‘Why do I have bad breath, even when I brush my teeth?’
If you regularly brush your teeth twice a day and find that you still have bad breath (halitosis) afterwards, it can be particularly damaging to your confidence and mental well-being. If you take good care of your oral hygiene and you still have halitosis, it could be a sign of something more serious at play.
Luckily, our expert team of dento-legal advisers is on hand to help you, using our combined knowledge to go through a range of issues that could be causing your bad breath. We hope that you find this page useful – if you’ve experienced dental negligence and you think it could possibly be related to your halitosis, we may be able to help you with your claim.
Please get in touch with our team today to start your claim.
What Are the Main Causes of Bad Breath?
Bad breath (otherwise known as halitosis) can be embarrassing, but most people will experience it at some point in their lives. Whilst poor oral hygiene is often considered to be a leading cause of halitosis, there are a range of factors that can lead to this issue. However, the root cause of bad breath is found in the mouth in 80-85% of cases, showing that most cases have some relation to poor dental hygiene:
The main causes of bad breath are:
- Oral health issues such as gum disease or tooth decay – Odour-causing bacteria can easily find their way into otherwise hard-to-reach spots in your mouth, such as cavities or gum pockets. Brushing your teeth can be difficult in these areas, allowing this bacteria to hide in your mouth. Halitosis can also be exacerbated by oral health conditions like advanced-stage gum disease and tooth decay.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)/Acid reflux – GERD is a form of chronic acid reflux, causing the contents of your stomach to flow back to your oesophagus, which can be rather uncomfortable. This process can regurgitate your stomach acid and undigested food, which may lead to heartburn and an unpleasant taste in your mouth, as well as bad breath.
- Dry mouth and dehydration – Dry mouth can be attributed to several causes, including dehydration, nerve damage, drug and alcohol use, tobacco consumption and anxiety/stress. Saliva production serves many purposes for humans, controlling your oral bacteria and removing food particles from the mouth. If your mouth is too dry, bacteria can accumulate and lead to halitosis, as well as increase your chances of gum disease and tooth decay.
- Underlying health conditions – Underlying health conditions that aren’t strictly related to your mouth can also cause bad breath. These illnesses include type one and type two diabetes, peptic ulcers, liver failure, intestinal blockages and kidney failure.
- Food and drink – Certain food and drink products can remain on your breath, no matter how many times you brush your teeth. Garlic and alcohol are well known for this, alongside food with a lot of onions in it.
- Smoking – Smoking cigarettes made from tobacco can cause a bad odour and remain on your breath. It can also make your mouth dry, which can further exacerbate the issue.
As you can see, there are many reasons why you could have bad breath, even after brushing your teeth. Having halitosis doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong with you, but it’s worth speaking to your dentist about possible sinus, mouth, or throat conditions if you’re concerned about your health.
How to Treat Bad Breath At Home
In most cases, you can treat bad breath at home by either improving your dental hygiene or by making some lifestyle changes. However, if your halitosis has been caused by a health condition such as GERD, cavities and gum disease, you may want to consider speaking to your dentist or a medical professional, depending on the nature of the condition.
The NHS recommends the following steps to try and prevent bad breath from lingering:
- Brush your teeth and gums gently twice a day for two minutes (once in the morning and once before going to bed)
- Use a fluoride toothpaste and an antibacterial mouthwash
- Gently clean your tongue once a day with a tongue scraper or cleaner
- Use interdental brushes or dental floss at least once a day to clean your teeth
- Attend your dentist for check-ups regularly and follow the advice given by your dentist
- If you wear dentures regularly, you should keep them clean and remove them from your mouth at night before sleeping
- After eating strong-smelling food and drink, use sugar-free mints or chewing gum to reduce the smell
Brushing with fluoride toothpaste should always be complemented by regular flossing and check-ups, ensuring you receive optimal oral hygiene results. Antibacterial mouthwash is not essential but it may help to keep your breath fresh – it’s important to note that mouthwash should never be used straight after brushing your teeth though. This is because it will wash away the concentrated fluoride from your teeth – fluoride prevents tooth decay and strengthens your enamel, making it an extremely important toothpaste component.
Maintaining a balanced diet, staying hydrated and avoiding tobacco-based products will also help to improve your breath. However, if these tips don’t work, you could have an underlying health condition – in these circumstances, you should speak to your dentist to work out what the root cause of your bad breath is.
What Oral Health Issues Can Cause Bad Breath?
Bad breath is usually caused by minor issues, such as the food you’ve eaten or dehydration. However, in some cases, halitosis can signify a more serious health condition. We should also point out that halitosis itself isn’t strictly a medical condition – instead, it’s just the old Latin word for bad breath. In the 1920s, Listerine marketed halitosis (or bad breath) as a health issue to sell more products. Ever since then, halitosis has been referred to as its own disease, rather than being symptomatic of something else.
If you have gum disease (otherwise called periodontal disease), there’s a good chance you may experience bad breath at some point. If picked up in the early stages (commonly known as gingivitis), gum disease is easily treatable. However, if left untreated, gum disease can be irreversible, leading to issues such as wobbly teeth, receding gums, bone loss, constant pain and discomfort and gum infections. One of the most common signs of gum disease is bleeding gums – particularly if they’re bleeding when brushing your teeth.
Tooth decay is another prominent factor in bad breath, usually requiring further treatment (such as cavity fillings) to rectify. It’s commonly caused by a build-up of plaque, which is a sticky film that constantly forms on your teeth. Plaque is removed when you brush your teeth, which is one of the key reasons why it’s important to have a dedicated cleaning routine. Consuming sugary food and drink on a regular basis can also lead to tooth decay, as the acid in these products can break down your tooth enamel to form a cavity.
Common symptoms of tooth decay include sensitivity to hot and cold food, extreme pain and discomfort after dental work and an increase in dental abscesses and infections, as well as halitosis. Both gum disease and tooth decay result in bacteria entering your mouth, often hiding in your gum pockets and cavities. This means that you may also experience bad breath with these conditions, as well as the other side effects and symptoms listed above.
Bad Breath Getting You Down?
Hopefully, we should have answered your query in this blog, showing you the main causes of bad breath – even when you’ve brushed your teeth. We understand that halitosis can be embarrassing and reduce your confidence, but the good news is that in many cases, it’s not a sign of anything untoward.
If you suspect you have bad breath and it’s caused by an oral health condition, you may want to consider speaking to your dentist for a check-up.
If you’d like any more advice or you’d like to start your own dental negligence claim, please complete our callback request form here.