Challenges with extremely bad breath

Ann Ruthenburg

HELLO there folks, I hope you are all well! This week I am answering the following question: Hi, I am a mother and a grandmother. I have had challenges with my breath for many years now. I brush my teeth three to four times a day, but the smell does not go away. I have visited dentists to no avail. My job entails me talking the whole day. I do have a sweet tooth. I have had a lot of mouth treatments, but nothing has helped.My response:

Hello there reader, thank you for your question. I have answered this question a few weeks ago, but I will possibly answer your situation as it is. First, brushing your teeth at least twice a day is the best way of helping get rid of bad breathe, however, it is not the solution to underlying medical issues.

I say underlying medical issues because there is no way for someone who is brushing teeth at least three to four times a day to still have bad breath. I might understand it if you said you eat raw garlic and onion the whole day. Then yes, those herbs/veggies leave a smell in your mouth that will not go away with brushing teeth once or even twice believe me.

But for the sake of maybe helping you and other readers out there, there are a few reasons why your breathe may be smelling and here they are. . .

The least serious one is basically the food you are eating. Certain foods have a very strong odour which can even be smelt when a person sweats. Others such as turmeric if eaten over a long period of time are known to discolour the skin from inside out, so more obvious strong odour foods are those with garlic and raw onion. Now both of these are essential to prevent many illnesses and diseases in the body. Not eating them is not an option. However, like I said they leave after effects odour wise. If you do eat these foods, brushing teeth alone will not get rid of the smell straight away. You will have to smell at least six to 12 hours after. So make sure you eat parsley with these. Parsley works like magic when you are eating any food with a strong smell in the mouth.

Another slightly less problem that could be causing your breathe to smell could be what we call a “dirty stomach”. It is simply a statement used when you have not had a bowel movement for sometime, possibly 48 hours. Most people have a bowel movement everyday plus or minus a day here or there. But if you are not being regular (trust me, there are some people who do not pass stool for days at a time), the rotting food, being broken down by acids in your intestines could cause bad breathe especially when you burp. Some people pass wind, others burp, but whichever it is, it smells bad and is a good sign that you need to pass stool. And also that you pure water intake is too little. So start drinking more water and eating more fibre, fruit and veggies and reduce the red meat intake.

More seriously you may have gum problems. I know a friend who had a problem with bleeding gums. She did not have a disease. She simply has sensitive gums. But of course when blood gets in contact with air, it smells, especially from the gums. So even though she had perfect looking teeth, when her gums bled, which was every time she ate something, her breath would smell. If this is your issue, please see a dentist or a mouth specialist. Change your toothpaste to something for sensitive teeth/gums also.

A cavity is also a major cause of bad breath. A simple hole in your tooth can cause major bad breath. You will be amazed how much smell can come out from a hole in a tooth/rotten tooth. The food sits in the whole and rots. Common sense tells us that anything rotting. . .smells. Even a hidden cavity can cause bad breathe issues, so constant visits to your dentist could save you not just pain, but embarrassment.

Gum disease of course is a big one and can only be sorted through a medical practitioner/dentist. I cannot give you any other solution to this one. If you leave it to continue, you will not just suffer bad breath but you will lose you teeth.

If your breathe smell is simply not brushing teeth. . .brush your teeth at least twice a day. If you do not have toothpaste, use salt, it’s excellent.

Peppermint sweets do a good job of hiding mouth sins, if the smell is to do with food and not disease. But beware it will also make you hungry lol.

But my dear in your case now you have said you have done all these and still you have bad breath, I will then not hesitate to say, go and see your doctor. You see our bodies produce natural acids that destroy germs and bacteria, that would produce all these un-slightly issues in our bodies. So if this is not working inside of you; then there may be a larger medical problem, that is not linked to your mouth my dear, but is manifesting through your breathe. Yes, there are common medical problems that people have that have after effects that produce acids in the body that produce smells, so please get checked for more than your mouth.

Anastasia is an ex-beauty queen, photographic model, a blogger (annruthenburg.blogspot.com), a motivational speaker, and a fashionista. Message her on 0733285730 or email on [email protected]