Eliminating Bad Breath

Anyone who’s been there will tell you that eliminating bad breath is not easy. In many cases, it’s not clear what’s causing the problem in the first place, and even when it’s possible to determine where the bad odor is coming form, it’s not always easy to determine why. Without a clear cause and effect relationship, many people are stuck with just treating the symptom without really dealing with the underlying problem.

Still, in uncomplicated halitosis, scientists are drawing close to finding a way to eliminate bad breath. We know that the bad odor associated with halitosis is actually a group of gases produced by bacteria in the mouth and throat. Collectively, these gases are called volatile sulphur compounds, or VSC, and they include hydrogen sulphide, dimethyl sulphide, and methyl mercaptan. Eliminating bad breath means literally getting rid of the bacteria that produce these foul smelling compounds.

Halitosis has been attributed to various oral conditions including gum disease, dental caries, poor oral hygiene, sinus problems, abnormal tonsils and other things. These things do play a part, but many people looking for a way to eliminate bad breath don’t have any of them – there’s nothing obviously wrong, but the bacteria flourish anyway and the bad odor persists. Again, until we know more, the only thing to do is focus on eliminating bad breath with medications and products that target the bacteria.

Antiseptics and antibiotics are one popular way to eliminate bad breath, but they are probably not the best option: not only do they target good bacteria as well as bad, but alcohol also dries out delicate oral tissues, which can actually lead to bad breath. A better approach is probably to change the ecosystem in the mouth, eliminating bad breath by making the mouth an unwelcoming place for anaerobic bacteria (anaerobes live in the absence of oxygen) – the ones that produce VSCs.

An obvious way to eliminate bad breath by fighting anaerobes, is to introduce more oxygen into the mouth: regular tooth brushing, flossing, tongue scraping, and rinsing remove debris and mucous coatings that block the flow of oxygen to oral tissues. Good oral hygiene does help! Some commercial products for halitosis also help with eliminating bad breath by delivering oxygen to places it normally doesn’t get to.

Hopefully, future research will reveal why oral bacteria get out of balance in the first place and spark new ideas for a way to eliminate bad breath for good.