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Causes Of Bad Breath - page 3
13) Dentures:
Denture users may complain about bad smell due to lodgement of small food debris in between. Proper brushing may not be possible in denture users especially fixed dentures.
14) Tobacco:
Tobacco chewing is associated with bad breath. The smell of tobacco itself is unpleasant for others. Tobacco can irritate the mucus membrane and cause ulcers and coatings. Gingivitis and pyorrhoea are common in tobacco chewers. Tartar is deposited on the teeth mainly near the gums. Tobacco chewers get gastric acidity with eructations. All these cause offensive smells.
 15) Smoking:
Smokers always have bad smell. It can also produce lesions in the mouth & lungs causing bad breath. Smoking increases carbon dioxide in the oral cavity & reduces oxygen level, causing a favourable condition for bacteria. Smoking reduces appetite & thirst hence acid peptic disease is common in chain smokers.
16) Lesions in the nose & ear:
Bad breath is occasionally seen in sinusitis (infection of para-nasal sinuses). In case of post nasal dripping bad breath is common due to the presence of protein in the discharges. These proteins are degraded by the bacteria. Infection in the middle ear with discharge of pus in to the throat through the Eustachian tube (passage from middle ear to the throat) can also cause offensive odour. Chronic rhinitis (infection of mucus membrane of nose) and foreign bodies in the nose can also produce bad smell in the expired air.
17) Diabetes mellitus:
Mostly all diabetic patients suffer from bad breath. Coated tongue, ulcers &coatings in the mouth, increased sugar level in tissues etc, are responsible for bad breath. Bacterial growth in diabetic patient is very faster than non diabetic individuals.
18) Fevers:
Bad breath is common in almost all fevers. Even an acute fever can produce bad breath. Severe bad breath is seen in typhoid .Other infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, AIDS etc, produce bad smell.
 19) Fasting & dehydration:
Dry mouth favours bacterial activity. So any condition which produces dryness in the mouth makes the breath offensive. Even though the food particles are known to produce bad breath, fasting can also produce the same. Production of saliva is also reduced during fasting. Chewing and swallowing also helps to keep the mouth clean.
20) Bedridden patients:
Bedridden patients suffer from offensive breath due to thick coating on the tongue. Water intake is also limited in these patients. Regurgitation of food aggravates the condition. Since they talk less aeration in the oral cavity is reduced which favours anaerobic bacteria to become active.
21) Diseases of stomach & esophagus:
Eructation of gas and food produce unpleasant smell. Abnormality in the function of lower sphincter can allow the food to regurgitate upwards causing bad breath. Bad breath is also common in gastritis, gastric ulcer and cancer of stomach.
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