What are the symptoms of halitosis?
The main halitosis symptom is foul-smelling breath that doesn’t go away. The odor may be strong enough for other people to notice.
What is the most common cause of bad breath?
The most common cause of halitosis is poor oral hygiene. Without proper oral hygiene — like brushing, flossing and routine dental cleanings — harmful bacteria invade your mouth and multiply out of control. This can lead to several oral health issues like halitosis, cavities and gum disease.
What are other halitosis causes?
While poor oral hygiene is the most common cause of halitosis, it’s not the only one. There are several other conditions that can cause bad breath, including:
- Dry mouth: Saliva helps to wash your mouth, so if your body isn’t making enough saliva, it can lead to halitosis. Smoking can cause dry mouth, and it also increases your risk for gum disease. Additionally, certain medications can cause dry mouth.
- Head and neck cancers: Symptoms of oral or oropharyngeal cancer (your oropharynx is between your nose and mouth) include sores that don’t heal, mouth pain, difficulty swallowing, a lump in your neck and unexplained weight loss.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): This is a digestive disorder in which stomach acid or fluid leaks back into your esophagus, the tube that takes food from your mouth to your stomach.
- Tonsil stones: When food gets stuck in your tonsils (located in the back of your throat), it sometimes hardens into calcium deposits called tonsil stones or tonsilloliths.
- Gum disease: Gingivitis is an inflammation of your gums that can cause redness, swelling and bleeding. It’s caused by plaque, a sticky film that builds up on your teeth and can be removed by brushing and flossing. Untreated gingivitis can lead to periodontitis, which damages gum tissue and can lead to tooth and bone loss around your teeth. Trench mouth is an advanced form of gum disease that can involve intense pain, bleeding, fever and fatigue. (It’s called “trench mouth” because it was a common illness for soldiers in the trenches during World War I.)
- Infections in your nose, throat or lungs: People with pneumonia, for example, cough up liquid that smells bad.
- Diabetes: People with diabetes have an increased risk of gum disease — and gum disease can make it harder to manage diabetes because it can increase blood sugar.
- Liver disease or kidney disease: When your liver and kidneys are working properly, they filter toxins out of your body. But in people with liver or kidney disease, these toxic substances aren’t being cleared out. This can result in halitosis.
- Sjögren’s syndrome: This autoimmune disease can lead to muscle pain, dry eyes, dry skin and dry mouth (which is often linked to halitosis).
Advertisem*nt
What does it mean if you have bad breath all the time?
If you have chronic halitosis, it could mean you have gum disease. This isn’t always the case, though. Halitosis can also be a symptom of the conditions listed in the section above.
If you have bad breath that doesn’t go away, schedule an appointment with your dentist. If halitosis is due to poor oral hygiene, a dental cleaning or periodontal (gum) procedure should help. If you have healthy teeth and gums, then halitosis may be linked to an issue in another part of your body.
