Halitosis (Bad Breath)
2 billion people in the world, regardless of age, gender or race, are faced with bad breath. There are two types of bad breath;
Temporary bad breath occurs with food eaten and disappears within 24-72 hours.
Persistent bad breath is caused by intraoral or extraoral factors. It does not go away in time, it requires long-term treatment and professional dental training.
Persistent bad breath is caused by 85% of the problems in the mouth. Among them;
- Dental caries
- Gingival disease
- Semi-impacted teeth
- Dry mouth
- Bacteria on the tongue surface.
Apart from this, the remaining 15% consists of extraoral factors. Among them;
- Ear-nose-throat and bronchial-lung pathologies
- Stomach problems
- Systemic problems such as liver disease and diabetes
- Hormonal causes
- Regularly used drugs are included.
Diagnosis And Treatment Of Bad Breath
Diagnosis and treatment of bad breath is the responsibility of the dentist. First of all, after a detailed oral examination and panoramic x-ray, tooth and gingival problems that may cause bad breath are detected, they should be eliminated one by one. Then the patient should be given a detailed oral care education. For the complaints of bad breath that do not go away despite all these, extraoral factors should be considered and directed to the relevant specialist.
What Should I Pay Attention To When Fighting Bad Breath?
You should brush your teeth regularly in the morning and evening as your doctor will recommend to you.
You should do your interdental care with the help of dental floss, interface brush and mouth shower.
By using tongue scrapers, you should remove bacteria that can cause odor on the tongue surface.