Your breath can be an effective tool to evaluate your oral and general health.
Sometimes, the cause is trivial. But, in some cases, the smell of your breath can be your body’s way of warning you.
1.Bad breath in general:
Causes:
- Food: Food particles in and around your teeth can increase bacteria and cause a foul odor. Eating certain foods, such as onions or garlic, can also cause bad breath.
- Tobacco: Smokers and oral tobacco users are also more likely to have gum disease, another cause of bad breath.
- Poor dental hygiene. Food particles remain in your mouth, causing bad breath. Your tongue also can trap bacteria that produce odors. Dentures that aren’t cleaned regularly or don’t fit properly can harbor odor-causing bacteria and food particles.
- Dry mouth. Saliva helps cleanse your mouth, removing particles that cause bad odors.
- Medications. Some medications can indirectly produce bad breath by contributing to dry mouth. Others can be broken down in the body and release chemicals that can be carried on your breath.
- Infections in your mouth. Bad breath can be caused by tooth decay, gum disease, or mouth sores.
- Sinus, mouth, or throat conditions: Infections or chronic inflammation in the nose, sinuses, or throat can cause bad breath.
2.Ammonia breath:
Causes:
- Alcohol:
The most common example is alcohol. Drinking alcohol can leave a noticeable smell on the breath.
- Sinusitis:
Sinusitis can be responsible for bad breath. For some individuals, their breath can smell like urine.
- Helicobacter pylori infection:
It is a type of bacteria that can affect the stomach. It is also known to cause both sweat and breath that smells like ammonia or urine.
- Urinary tract infection:
If a UTI spreads to the kidneys and causes a kidney infection, it can lead to a buildup of waste in the body. This can cause a metallic taste and breath that smells like urine.
- Chronic kidney disease:
When the kidneys are not functioning properly, they are unable to flush waste out of the bloodstream adequately. This can cause waste to build up in the bloodstream, leading to a metallic taste in the mouth and breath that smells strongly of ammonia.
3.Acetone breath:
Causes:
- Diabetes: If your breath smells like acetone ( the same fruity scent as nail polish remover ), it may be a sign of high levels of ketones (acids your liver makes) in your blood. It is a problem mainly of type 1 diabetes. It can happen with type 2 if you get a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
- Drinking: A person who consumes large amounts of alcohol may not have a healthy diet or eat enough food to provide their body with energy. In this case, the body may produce ketones, and a condition called alcoholic ketoacidosis may develop. Symptoms include a smell of acetone on the breath.
Solutions:
Brush and floss more often.
Plaque, the sticky buildup on your teeth, collects bacteria that cause bad breath.
Trapped food also adds to the problem.
Brush your teeth at least two times each day, and floss at least once.
Scrape your tongue.
The coating that normally forms on your tongue can be a host for smelly bacteria.
To get rid of them, gently brush your tongue with your toothbrush.
Clean your dentures properly.
Avoid foods that sour your breath.
Onions and garlic are big offenders. But brushing after you eat them doesn’t help.
Try to avoid these foods when social interaction is plausible.
Quit smoking.
Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.
Consult your doctor:
If your bad breath does not disappear after following the advice above, an underlying condition may be the cause.
