A closer look into the mouth by Dr M Schiele

Bad Breath (Halitosis)
Many years ago in most ancient Asian kingdoms, subjects were required to chew several cloves to freshen their breath before they were allowed to have an audience with the king. Today, this troublesome complaint affects millions of people. Besides the obvious, drinking alcohol, eating garlic, onions, smoking etc,, which causes bad breath, sometimes the condition may become chronic and can be caused by an underlying medical condition.

What can cause it.
Multiplication of odour causing bacteria (an imbalance) in the mouth usually brings about bad breath. The dryer the mouth, the more bacteria thrive there. Any condition that reduces saliva production can contribute to bad breath - including, breathing through the mouth, crash diets (the less food you chew, the less saliva is produced) certain drugs, advancing age and even the time of the day (at night less saliva is produced - bad breath in the morning). Bacteria may also collect on the tongue and in food debris that accumulates on dentures and teeth. Persistent bad breath can also be caused by gum disease or a similar chronic infection. Bad breath can also reflect an imbalance of micro-organisms in the bowel caused by a domination of “unfriendly” bacteria.

What to do about it.
For further free information on the prevention and treatment of Halitosis (bad breath) read more in the consultation room...