When talking about a person’s breath, there’s no confusion about what’s bad and what’s good. Bad breath is never good. To get rid of bad breath, people mask it over with mints, gum, or mouthwash, but if you never deal with the source, the bad comes back.
The best way to remove bad breath is by removing the cause. Regularly eating certain foods and certain bad habits can lead to bad breath. Adjusting eating habits and improving oral hygiene helps, but medical conditions may also be a factor, and many of them can be treated or controlled. One of the main biological causes of bad breath, for example, is bacteria in your mouth.
I Don’t Want to Think About Bacteria In My Mouth
At any given time, there are close to 700 strains of bacteria in your mouth. Some of these bacteria help with food digestion and take up space that would otherwise be occupied by harmful bacteria. Others emit gases and particles that human noses don’t care for. Of course, with so many species of bacteria in your mouth, there are often many different gases that make up the “flavor” of your bad breath. The gases are categorized into three groups: sulphur compounds, diamines, and fatty acids. Any combination of these gases produces the odors we detect as bad breath, or halitosis. In fact, depending on the nature of the stench (good or bad as measured by the “hedonic tone,” combined with other qualities), medical specialists can even identify the exact strains of bacteria causing bad breath!
Bacterial Stink Champion?
Is there a single strain of bacteria that out-performs the rest in producing bad breath? One study isolated two oral bacteria, P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum, to determine which was worst. Using an odor measuring device called a halimeter and their own noses, researchers began their comparison of the two by detecting both bacteria in patients with and without gum disease. Their study determined that P. gingivalis produced the worst odor for bad breath. However, the study only researched two of the most common types of bacteria out of hundreds commonly present in the human mouth.
Don’t Suffer Bacterial Stink!
Regardless of how bad a person’s breath may be, the Yuba City Dentistry Group is able to identify the sources and assist our patients in breaking free of bad breath. That starts with a dental exam or checkup. If you don’t have one in your calendar already, contact the Yuba City Dentistry Group to schedule an appointment. You can do so over the phone or here on our website.
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