Are Your Gums Causing Your Bad Breath?

Bad breath is hard to hide, even from yourself. While your breath can become unappealing after eating garlic or onions, chronic bad breath may need attention from your dentist. Halitosis refers to persistent bad breath that comes from bacteria inside your mouth, rather than the seasoning of your last meal.

How Does Halitosis Begin?

Bad breath often starts with poor brushing habits, which allows harmful bacteria, food debris and plaque to accumulate on your teeth, gums and tongue. Oral bacteria likes to feed and breed, and they do that by combining with the sugars that are left behind after you eat. When your hygiene fails, you are essentially letting this bacteria feast inside your mouth. Unfortunately, as the bacteria feeds and multiplies, it naturally produces a foul-smelling sulfur compound – hence the offensive breath.

The Link Between Halitosis and Gum Disease

It may be possible to reverse your bad breath with better oral hygiene habits (or brushing your tongue more often). However, if excessive oral bacteria has really settled in and gone untreated, your bad breath could be a warning sign of as a warning sign for gum disease. Gum disease occurs when plaque and bacteria invade the soft supportive tissues of your teeth and create an infection. If not addressed early, gum disease causes far more than just bad breath. This periodontal infection can instigate gum recession, tooth movement and even tooth loss. If your bad breath brings you to the dentist for treatment of gum disease that you didn’t know you had, be grateful for the warning.

Long-Lasting Relief for Bad Breath

Does your breath smell “less than fresh” more days than not? Instead of masking the problem with a peppermint or stick of gum, we invite you to consider a longer-lasting solution from your dentist.

At Montevallo Family Dentistry, we will take measures to identify the root cause of your halitosis struggles. If gum disease is the culprit, you can trust that Dr. Shunnarah can offer effective gum disease therapies. Depending on the stage of your periodontal disease, we may offer a deep cleaning using scaling and root planing or other advanced treatments to restore optimal health to your gums. Once your gums are free of infection, your breath should immediately freshen up.

Posted on behalf of Montevallo Family Dentistry