The Total Wellness
Top Reasons for Bad Breath
The major reason for bad breath is the existence of germs and foods particles which get trapped in certain areas of oral cavity and cause the release of an odor. This odor can be unbearable for the other people during conversations. Now, most of the people don’t even realize about their bad breath due to the issue’s social stigma which keeps close ones from mentioning the problem.
So, if you wonder about the reason for bad breath, there is no single one. Diagnosing and treating this issue can be specifically difficult because there are certain areas in the oral cavity that can result in bad breath.
Mouth germs and bad breath
Bad breath due to germs is usually caused by accumulation of germs which get settled in the plaque and cause foul breath. The metabolism of these germs is carried out with the help of food particles. As a result, volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) are produced. These compounds are composed of elements which are known to add odor to the breath released from the mouth. Certain oral appliances such as retainers and dentures can also harbor such germs. In order to prevent and/or get rid of the bad breath, one needs to ensure better oral hygiene at home. This can be done with the help of effective brushing and flossing regularly.
Bad breath can also occur due to infections in the mouth. The main reason infection causes bad breath is that oral bacteria find their grounds to enhance their functionality. It works in two ways. Bacteria result in infection and then infection promotes development of even more bacteria.
Tongue is the home to most of the bacteria in the mouth. There are many tiny papillae present in the tongue that serve as breeding home to bacteria. Effective cleaning of tongue can help in the good riddance of bacteria.
Bad breath and food consumption
There are certain types of foods that can result in bad breath. Such foods release odor upon digestion. These foods mainly include garlic, onions, spicy compounds and coffee. Since this problem cannot be classified as the medical condition, you can use scent masking methods, such as use of sugar free gums and mouth wash, to freshen up your breath.
Bad breath due to medical conditions
Sometimes, you might suffer from xerostomia which is a condition involving lack of saliva production in the mouth. Saliva is needed because it helps in washing away of food debris, dead cells and bacteria. There are certain conditions which can result in dry mouth. Some of those conditions include mouth breathing, medications, and certain illnesses which can result in inhabitance of saliva production.
There are certain conditions related to stomach that can result in bad breath. Such conditions include heartburn, acid reflux, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and gas. These are the conditions you can get treated for by your medical doctor but your dentist may also be able to help you in diagnosis.
Bruxism: What Is It?
You know the drill. Take care of your teeth to avoid them rotting, becoming painful, or even falling out. And for the most part, the health of your teeth is directly in your control. There’s not some flukey thing out there that’s preventing you from brushing your teeth, flossing, and visiting your dentist. No, that’s all stuff you just want to keep putting off. (Maybe.)
Sometimes, though, there are things out of your control when it comes to your teeth. Getting hit smack dab in the tooth by a particularly hard ball in a sport? Complete and utter accident. Wisdom teeth erupting in sideways? Terrible genetics.
But one thing got me thinking the other night that is outside of genetics and accidents. And the only reason I got to thinking about it is because it’s all I could hear.
It’s teeth grinding (or bruxism).
Yeah, I had to lay there and roll around in bed for an hour before finally getting to sleep because my partner was grinding her teeth in her sleep. I mean, I couldn’t just wake her up and say “Hey, stop doing that”, could I? No. Because she didn’t have direct control over it.
It led me to look up some causes for bruxism and why the heck it happens in someone’s sleep in particular. Here’s what I found.
Stress
This one was the most common reason for teeth grinding at night (paired alongside anxiety in most things I found). Over 50% of nightly bruxism happens because of stress alone.
But it makes sense when you think about it. When you’re stressed, in danger, or anxious about something, you unconsciously clench your jaw in preparation for the worst, almost as if you’re bracing yourself for a blow to the face.
Well, this translates into clenching while asleep, and clenching the jaw can sometimes manifest itself in the form of grinding.
Lifestyle
Out of all the things you can control about bruxism, this is your best bet. When I say lifestyle, I mean the choices you make on a daily basis. And from what studies have shown, drinking too much alcohol or smoking too much during the day can make you more prone to bruxism in your sleep.
Chalk this up as a controllable factor in teeth grinding while you’re unconscious in bed.
Sleep disorders
I mean, this one makes sense considering a sleep disorder is something abnormal in your sleep. But other sleeping disorders are related to bruxism. If you suffer from the likes of sleep apnea or even insomnia, you may be a lot more likely to grind your teeth too. So, try to tackle these other sleep disorders first if you want to rid yourself of the grinding.