Halitosis - Causes and Home Remedies
What Is Halitosis? Its Causes And Home Remedies
Halitosis is also called chronic bad breath. It is different from normal bad breath. There could be many causes for halitosis and it is very easy to cure it. You just need to find the underlying cause before beginning to cure halitosis. Natural remedies such as those available at home are the best way to treat this. Below we have given some home remedies for halitosis that you can use to cure it.
What is Halitosis?
Bad breath like the “morning breath” is temporary until you go brush your teeth and is absolutely a normal phenomena and is not considered as halitosis. It occurs because your mouth remained closed overnight and had no functions to perform. The salivary flow is also decreased during this time leading to dry mouth.
Whereas, Halitosis, also known as chronic bad breath, is something that mouthwash, mints or a good brushing cannot solve. It’s not a five minutes temporary bad breath experienced like after having garlic or fish. Halitosis is a medical term for chronic bad odor and is more of an symptom than a disease.
Symptoms of Halitosis
The most common symptoms include postnasal drip, a bitter metallic taste, a white coating on the tongue, and thick saliva.
Causes of Halitosis
1. Waking up with bad breath: A normal phenomena caused due to closed mouth for a long time.
However, if the smell is strong and persists for long, you must have a visit to your dentist.
2. Eating garlic, onion or fish: Garlic and onions have the chemical “Sulphur” responsible for the bad odor.
3. Alcohol: It reduces the production of saliva causing halitosis.
4. Crash diets/low carb diets: “Ketones” (also found in nail polish) are substances released into our breath when the body is burning fat leaving our breath with smell.
5. Dental treatment: Dental treatments like having braces and not able to clean them properly often leads to accumulation of food particles and their decay causes bad smell.
6. Dental issues: Having dental cavities and gum infection leads to halitosis.
7. Dry Mouth: Being on medication for the long term can lead to dry mouth or xerostomia, which in turn leads to halitosis.
8. Mouth, nose, throat infections: Halitosis is just the side effect of these.
9. Smoking and tobacco: The chemicals present in them are responsible for the smell.
10. Other chronic conditions: Such as chronic reflux of stomach acids (Gastro esophageal reflux disease/GERD) causes halitosis. Liver failure causes “fishy” odor of the breath. Severe diabetes causing “sweaty or fruity” odor of breath. Increase of urea in urine causes “ammonia like or urinary” odor of breath.
Home Remedies for Halitosis Cure
- Waking up with bad breath: After doing your morning rituals, make OIL PULLING your habit. It is an ancient ayurveda technique. It not only makes your skin glowing and healthy but also keeps toxins away. Swish one tsp of edible oil in your mouth for 10-20 minutes. Start with five minutes and eventually increase your time.
- Eat garlic, onion or fish: Rinse your mouth with water and chew on some parsley.
- Alcohol: Have a glass of water after few drinks to neutralize the taste and odor of the mouth. Have some mouth freshener or lemon or mint after drinking. Sucking lemon increases the flow of saliva.
- Crash diet/ low carb diet: To avoid this do not leave your body dehydrated.
- Dental treatment: Consult your dentist on how to keep your braces or any other orthodontic appliance clean. Halitosis could also be because of reinfection in the already treated tooth.
- Dental issues: Get yourself checked by your family dentist. To prevent these brush and floss regularly.
- Dry mouth: Make sure in such a case you make tongue cleaning our priority. Most of the mouth bacteria are present on tongue. Use tongue scrappers. Suck lemon or chew sugarless gums to increase saliva. Do consult your dentist.
- Mouth, nose, throat infections: Try to cure this infection at the earliest and do not let it prolong as it adds to bad mouth smell.
- Smoking and tobacco: It’s better to curb the habit slowly. Have an understanding that this is just a habit, an addiction and is not bigger than you. It will take time but will you will be eventually free from it. Keep your mouth clean. Stains are generally left on the tooth surface after tobacco consumptions. And chronic use can alter the color of the natural teeth and gum tissue.
- Other chronic conditions: Consult your physician so that the underlying cause can be treated and you get rid of halitosis.
- Give five minutes, twice a day for brushing. Do not forget to clean your tongue. Improper brushing and flossing is the most common cause for halitosis. Do not brush the hard way but surely the right way.
- Keep your body hydrated.
- Have green or black tea.
- Have foods rich in citric acid. Example orange, lemon. Guava having vitamin C is of great benefit.
- After each meal, rinse your mouth with water.
- Probiotics : have a yogurt , it improves immunity.