What Causes Bad Breath – Is Your Lifestyle to Blame?
Having bad breath can shatter your confidence, your social life and romance. But it shouldn’t have to ruin your life. This post will show you what causes bad breath so that you can work at fixing the problem.
The most common causes of bad breath is the bacteria in your mouth. If left to accumulate they will feed on little bits of food left in your mouth and their by product is a sulfur like compound (like rotten eggs) that gets released. Bad Breath or halitosis often occurs when people don’t brush or floss regularly but even people with great dental hygiene can get it.
Other external factors may also be to blame such as smoking, drinking (beer and spirits especially) or a taste for highly fragrant foods such as garlic and onion. These aromas get stuck in the lungs and are breathed out for a long period after you have finished consuming or smoking them.
And then of course there are dental health issues such as tooth or gum decay which can emit pungent odors. If this is your cause then you will need to see a dental professional to help cure the problem by fixing your teeth.
It seems that if you are a woman you are more at risk for bad breath than men. The reason is thought to be hormonal changes in the body that can bring on bad breath. Often clearing up the hormone fluctuations can also clear up smelly breath. This is one reason why certain periods of a woman’s life such as puberty, pregnancy, menopause or even on the pill can cause oral health problems.