Blech! Dragons Breath!

You brushed your teeth, but 20 minutes later your dragon's breath is back. Halitosis (bad breath) refers to stinky sulfur compounds that accumulate especially at the back of your tongue.
Halitosis has several causes and treatments, including—

Diet—digested foods such as hi-protein foods, coffee, tea, acidic foods, cookies, candy, garlic and onions are absorbed into the bloodstream, carried to your lungs and exhaled.

• Eat fewer offending foods and drink more water.

Inadequate oral hygiene—food particles between your teeth and trapped in the grooves on your tongue ferment and produce sulfur compounds.

• Brush twice each day with an anti-bacterial or baking soda toothpaste and floss once each day or after each meal.
• Thoroughly clean dental appliances.
• Use a tongue scraper to remove trapped food and bacteria from the back of your tongue.  
• Avoid mouth rinses that contain alcohol. Use mouthwashes that contain xylitol and essential oils such as tea tree and spearmint that help freshen breath.
• Chew xylitol gum between brushings. Xylitol is an ingredient in some mouth rinses, toothpastes and gels.

Inadequate oral care lets biofilm build up on your teeth and below your gumline. Most of the sulfur compounds that cause bad breath come from bacterial compounds deteriorating gum tissue.

• A professional cleaning above and below the gumline removes bacteria and dead tissue.

Medicines—can cause xerostomia (dry mouth).

• Change medications, if possible.
• Saliva helps to clean the mouth, so, use products made with xylitol to stimulate saliva flow and kill oral bacteria.
  

Medical conditions—stomach or intestinal conditions such as the flu and Crohn's contribute to halitosis.

• Add more alkaline foods to your diet.
• Drink plenty of water.

If our suggestions don't help, don't be embarrassed to ask us about stinky breath.

Houston dentist
Minh Nguyen, D.D.S.