You notice that people sometimes step back when you talk, or perhaps you get a whiff of your own breath and you’re less than impressed.
Most of us experience bad breath from time to time, or even daily if you consider morning breath. For some people, however, bad breath is more of a chronic problem that could be signaling a much larger oral health issue.
At Smile Bright Dental in Tampa and New Port Richey, Florida, our team of dental health experts is very familiar with the many conditions that can lead to chronic bad breath, medically known as halitosis. And here’s what we’ve found often drives the problem.
More often than not, bad breath stems from gases released by bacteria. While hundreds of types of bacteria can be found in your mouth at any given time, if harmful bacteria take hold and begin to eat away at your gums, bad breath is one side effect.
Unfortunately, about 42% of adults over 30 in the United States have some form of gum disease. And this condition can not only lead to bad breath, but it can also progressively damage your gums and teeth if left unchecked.
Another common road to chronic bad breath is untreated tooth decay. Nearly 90% of Americans ages 20-64 have had tooth decay, which comes from bacteria boring holes into these hard structures.
As we learned with gum disease, when harmful bacteria are active, it can result in bad breath.
Saliva plays an important role in early digestion by breaking down food and helping keep your mouth clean. If you have dry mouth, whether as a primary condition or due to certain medications or treatments, one of the first things you might notice is bad breath since saliva isn’t moving around your mouth.
To give you an idea about how common this is, dry mouth, medically known as xerostomia, has a global prevalence rate of about 22%.
The three conditions just listed are the primary drivers of chronic bad breath, but we can add a few others, including:
The best way to figure out what’s behind your ongoing bad breath is to see us for a comprehensive evaluation. Not only can this visit help improve your breath, but it can often improve your overall oral health at the same time.
To get to the bottom of your halitosis, we invite you to schedule an appointment at one of our conveniently located offices. You can give us a call today or book online anytime.
