Vitamins for Bad Breath

Will taking vitamins for bad breath work? In the past, bad breath was attributed to poor oral hygiene - if you had it, people assumed that you did not brush your teeth regularly and have regular dental checkups to ensure that your gums were healthy and your teeth free of cavities. In short, it was your fault. More recently, we've realized that even a clean healthy mouth can generate a bad odor if the oral bacteria that produce that odor become too numerous. We've also realized that certain physical conditions, such as post nasal drip, sinus problems, and dry mouth can contribute to bad breath.

The idea that there may be a connection between nutrition and bad breath has grown out of the 21st century emphasis on healthy lifestyles and preventative medicine. Many health problems can be prevented, we now believe by eating a healthy diet and having an active lifestyle. This approach , successfully followed, might alleviate not only bad breath, but also the underlying problems, like post nasal drip, that contribute to it. Logically, then, vitamins for bad breath might make sense.

A few bad breath professionals have gone so far as to highlight the issue of nutrition and bad breath, and are recommending specific vitamins and minerals, or even marketing their own dietary supplement. Beyond advocating good nutrition, some are suggesting that the immune system plays a role in the causes of bad breath and that a strengthened immune system will help solve the problem. The perfect minerals and vitamins for bad breath, then, will include those involved in maintaining good oral health, and those that support the immune system, many of which are the same.

Vitamin C is an obvious choice: we've known for hundreds of years that people who don't eat fruits and vegetables get scurvy, a disease easily recognized by the destruction of the gums. Vitamin C is the nutrient that people with scurvy lack, and the destructive effect on the oral tissues sets up perfect conditions for the proliferation of odor causing bacteria. Even today, many people don't get enough Vitamin C. It could be that, for some people, this Vitamin C deficiency is the link between nutrition and bad breath.

Another obvious nutrient to go with vitamins for bad breath is the mineral zinc. The relationship between zinc and halitosis is so well established that many of the best mouthwashes and other oral care products for bad breath already contain this mineral. Zinc plays a role in many body functions, including taste and immunity. It's exact role in fighting the malodorous bacteria may also be complex, but there is little doubt that it does have a positive influence on nutrition and bad breath.

Other suggested nutrients for bad breath include vitamins E and D, and the B vitamin complex, and the mineral calcium. All of these vitamins and minerals play a well established role in human health, and many people already take them or ensure that there are adequate sources in the diet. Not surprisingly, the vitamin and mineral supplements aimed at bad breath are very similar to ordinary multivitamin and mineral supplements. Supplements linking immune status, nutrition and bad breath may contain herbal extracts typical of immunity boosters advocated by natural healing specialists. Whether or not these products provide the key to beating halitosis remains to be seen, but its doubtful that taking vitamins for bad breath will do any harm. To be safe, before taking any dietary supplement on a regular basis, discuss your concerns with your doctor.

Bad Breath

Bad breath (halitosis) is something we all worry about. North Americans spend billions of dollars a year on breath mints, mouthwashes and gum to try to decrease the chances that someone will find our breath offensive. We avoid breathing in the faces of other people and, if we're standing close, turn our heads away as we speak. There is such a cultural consensus that bad smelling breath is a problem, that it is common practice to pass the mints or gum around whenever you feel the need for some yourself.

Many of us believe that poor oral hygiene is the cause of bad breath. It's true that poor tooth brushing habits allow food particles to build up in pockets in the mouth and between the teeth, but many people with good oral hygiene habits can also have a problem with halitosis. It has much more to do with the population of bacteria living in the mouth than with the energy spent on oral cleansing - bacteria and other organisms in the mouth are normal and healthy, but some are easier to live with than others.

Ultimately, the cause of bad breath is a group of anaerobic bacteria that make themselves at home in your mouth. A bad breath cure would have to aim at significantly decreasing the numbers of these bacteria in the mouth. Anaerobic bacteria fluorish in the absence of oxygen, so they tend to do best in places where air circulation is poor: spaces between the teeth, in gum creases and pockets, in the tonsillar crypts and on the back of the tongue. In these locations they live on the debris that collects in all our mouths: particles of food, dead skin cells, proteins found in saliva, etc. As they break down these things, they produce foul smelling gases that we detect as bad breath.

No bad breath cure will wipe out the anaerobic bacteria completely, but the best products reduce the populations to the level where the foul odor they produce becomes undetectable. This can achieved by physical removal, such as tongue scraping and mouthwashes that literally pick up the bacteria and carry them away. It can be done with antibacterial agents that kill may of the bacteria, and it can be done by making the mouth an unfavorable environment for them, that is, providing lots of oxygen to the sites where they normally hide. New and novel approaches to the problem in recent years have resulted in the production of promising new agents for getting at the cause of bad breath and correcting the problem.

Tonsiloliths

What are tonsiloliths? Some people notice that they have small white hard lumps in the back of the throat in the tonsil region. The lumps range in size from quite tiny to pea size and they tend to remain lodged in the tonsillar area for some time, until they eventually become dislodged. They are often associated with a bad smell coming from the tonsil area, and may create the physical sensation of having something lodged in the back of the throat.

Tonsiloliths are accumulations of dead skin cells and other cellular and noncellular debris that wash down the back of the throat from the sinuses and nasal cavities. People who suffer from post nasal drip often have tonsiloliths because they have a regular flow of mucus and sinus drainage past the tonsils. The little stones occur in the tonsillar crypts because this is one place where material can become lodged. Because they contain abundant protein, they provide a fertile place for bacteria to flourish, particularly the anaerobic bacteria that live on the back of the tongue and in other airless places in the mouth. The growth and metabolism of these bacteria produce bad breath from tonsils - halitosis.

Tonsiloliths, sometimes also referred to as tonsil stones, can be very difficult to get rid of. Though the individual stones eventually become dislodged and get swallowed, more will soon begin to form. Individuals who have had their tonsils removed usually do not suffer from tonsiloliths, but tonsillectomy is not a recommended treatment for the problem: remedies are best directed at the bad breath from tonsils as this is the most troublesome symptom.

The odor that emanates as bad breath from tonsils is caused by sulfur compounds produced by bacteria. The bacteria live and multiply in and on the tonsil stones, thus they will not be affected much by brushing the teeth or tongue, or rinsing the mouth with antibacterial mouthwashes. Breath sprays and mints are also likely to be ineffective. The best approach is to gargle regularly with a good mouthwash that is designed to reduce the numbers of anaerobic bacteria in the mouth. This will not only reduce the odor, it may also help to dislodge the tonsil stones.

Cure Bad Breath in My Dog

I know that it's important to cure bad breath in my dog when it occurs because I once lost a dog to periodontal disease, which often accompanies tartar buildup and foul breath in dogs. You see, tartar buildup on a dogs teeth fosters the growth of odor producing and potential harmful bacteria. If these bacteria become too numerous, and the gums become inflamed, bacteria can invade tissue, even travel to other parts of the body and set up abscesses and other types of infection there. The dog I lost had a deep jaw abscess that was basically untreatable. If you dog has foul smelling breath, deal with it now.

Bad breath in dogs is more common in older pets because the tartar builds up over the course of a lifetime unless you have the dogs teeth cleaned regularly. Now, when I need to cure bad breath in my dog, I know what to do. the first step is a visit to the veterinarian to have the dog's teeth examined. A veterinarian can assess the condition of the dog's teeth and confirm that this is where the odor is coming from (it's important to rule out other health problems that can cause an odor on the breath). Your veterinarian can also advise you as to what steps you should take, based on the degree of tartar and periodontal disease.

I've found that it's easier to prevent than to cure bad breath in my dog. The idea of brushing a dog's teeth may seem ridiculous, but there are toothpastes on the market specifically designed for dogs and cats. they come in pleasant meaty flavors that the animals love - you can slowly train your dog to tolerate a daily brushing with an enzyme toothpaste formulated to dissolve tartar. dog owners who start this routine when the animal is quite young can often avoid bad breath in dogs altogether.

Another way to fight tartar is to give a dog chew toys and bones to literally scrape the tartar off the teeth. Over the years, I've found that many of these aren't very appealing to my pet and thus they don't really work to cure bad breath in my dog, but recently, I discovered the "tartar buster." It's a more or less spherical piece of bone about 3 inches in diameter. My dog loves tartar busters and they work miraculously well to scrape off tartar and clear up bad breath in dogs; in fact, I avoided a costly veterinarian procedure by buying a couple of tartar busters. As with any bone, watch your dog to be sure it doesn't swallow large chunks while chewing on a tartar buster.

If all else fails, you veterinarian may recommend a cleaning under anesthetic to remove heavy tartar. This is expensive and it can be risky for older animals, but it is well worth it to avoid a serious and possibly life-threatening illness later on - bad breath in dogs is not just a cosmetic or social problem. After losing one faithful friend already, I'd be willing to go to considerable lengths to cure bad breath in my dog.

Coated Tongue and Bad Breath

Look at yourself in the mirror and stick out your tongue - do you have a coated tongue and bad breath? many people who suffer from bad breath (halitosis) have a visible white coating on the back of the tongue. Even if you don't see anything, you do have a coating, sometimes referred to as a biofilm, on your tongue made up of myriad different microscopic organisms, the remnants of food and body cells, and a noncellular matrix that holds it all together.

Some of the organisms living on your tongue are potential pathogens - organisms that can cause infection and halitosis, in fact, the tongue is the site of the greatest number of microorganisms living in the mouth. This is why it is so beneficial to use a tongue cleaner to remove the biofilm, particularly if you have a visibly coated tongue and bad breath. Studies have shown that regular physical removal of the coating brings about a significant reduction in numbers of pathogenic bacteria in the mouth, and in the degree of halitosis.

Physical tongue cleaning will be more effective against your bad breath coated tongue and oral microorganisms because the noncellular matrix of the biofilm actually protects the organisms within it from mouthwashes, natural immune cells and the cleaning action of saliva - think of a firm jelly-like substance enclosing everything in a thin impermeable layer. A good tongue cleaner or tongue scraper gets past the barrier of the matrix by just scraping it all away and alleviating the coated tongue and bad breath. Meanwhile, lower layers that become exposed will be vulnerable to antibacterial substances in the mouth such as saliva or mouthwash while the biofilm is reestablishing itself.

And it will reestablish itself - no tongue cleaner or antibacterial product will ever completely eradicate the unwelcome organisms in your mouth that are causing bad breath coated tongue and even periodontal disease. It is possible, however to keep the numbers of these organism down with a regular program of good oral hygiene including tongue scraping and the use of a mouthwash that targets the bacteria that cause a heavily coated tongue and bad breath.