It’s that repulsive oral odor. It’s that stinky smell coming out of someone’s mouth, maybe even your own. Yes I am referring to that culprit commonly known as bad breath. Bad breath is not a simple condition that you can easily shrug off or ignore. Although it does not always cause serious dental and medical conditions, it can bring you more trouble than you expected. Bad breath is a major source of embarrassment and a condition that can damage your confidence. It comes wafting out of your mouth and the whiff causes the people you talk to in close proximity to cover their noses, or back off a bit. It is not only embarrassing but disturbing as well. If you’re a perpetrator, this unfortunate condition can cause you to feel psychologically and emotionally dejected.

If you’ve been on the receiving end, you will know what it’s like when you’ve come across or even know someone who suffers from this curse. Maybe it is the person you are in a relationship with. It could be someone who is a dear friend, a colleague or an acquaintance. Bad breath is arguably a problem of epidemic proportions. But how does this personal and social nuisance come about in the first place?

Why Bad Breath Occurs

The most common cause why bad breath (medically referred to as halitosis) comes about is due to food particles that linger in the mouth. These become trapped in between the teeth, and the debris in the lining of the mouth and on the tongue. There are bacteria that function to prevent bad bacteria from forming. However, when you don’t clean your mouth and teeth to get rid of these particles, bad bacteria known as sulphur compounds start to build up and multiply. These sulphur compounds cause your breath to smell foul and wreak its havoc on unfortunate others.

Lack of water intake is another cause for bad breath. "Dry mouth" is where bad bacteria multiply themselves because of a lack of saliva inside the mouth. The function of saliva is to assist in the natural cleansing of the mouth. Without it to keep the sulphur compounds at bay, the mouth is defenseless against an assault by the offending bacteria.

Smoking also causes your breath to smell bad. It does this because it deprives the mouth of oxygen. In addition, nicotine and tar form on the teeth, and inside the mouth, including the gums and tongue. Not only that, smoking can cause tartar and plaque to build up and this is another reason why a smoker’s breath smells so bad.

Another reason for bad breath is due to infections such as tonsillitis, sinusitis, and other similar conditions. Infections themselves are carriers of compounds which are absorbed in the mouth and cause the breath to smell bad. Aside from this, there are certain medical conditions that trigger halitosis such as kidney problems, diabetes, periodontitis, and others.

In addition, a person taking prescription drugs can be a candidate for suffering from halitosis. There are a wide variety of prescription drugs, which when taken orally, cause the breath to smell bad.

Knowledge Is Power!

So we can see how much of a problem bad breath is and why it happens to unfortunate people far and wide. We can also better understand what particular conditions and habits can enable a bad breath problem to flare up. Thankfully there are products out there that can help alleviate and cure chronic bad breath problems.