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REASONS FOR BAD BREATH BEHIND THE FACEMASK

Facemasks have become a necessity of the current times to stay protected from the deadly coronavirus and the rising levels of pollution. While wearing the facemask, have you experienced a bad breath from your mouth? Most people have a misconception that the foul smell is of the facemask. Hardly do people realize that it might be a situation of halitosis, and the facemask would have probably given you a glimpse of your poor dental situation. According to the Academy of General Dentistry, more than 80 million people have chronic halitosis or bad breath. There are a few reasons for the underlying bad breath issue that are stated below. 

• Improper brushing of teeth 
• Skipping dental flossing 
• Smell owing to the food & drinks you consume 
• Dry mouth 
• Smoking & alcohol 
• Mouth breathing 
• Health issues 

1.IMPROPER BRUSHING OF TEETH 

Whenever you consume any food, bits and pieces of food get trapped between your teeth and the harmful bacteria in the mouth feed on these food particles and form plaque. The decomposed food particles and plaque are responsible for emitting a foul smell from your mouth.  

When you brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, these food particles get removed, and bacteria could not feed on them. As crucial it is to brush your teeth, brush your tongue and the inner cheeks as well. Most people brush their teeth but forget the tongue where the bacteria find their harbor, and bad bBADreath usually gets emitted from the back of the tongue. Thus brushing your teeth twice a day with the correct procedure can save you from bad breath and other dental issues.  

2.SKIPPING DENTAL FLOSSING 

Do you regularly floss your teeth? Or leave it as an exception because you already brush your teeth? Firstly, you must understand that while brushing the teeth can remove most of the food particles trapped in between the teeth, however, the toothbrush cannot reach the intense gaps between the teeth where the plaque find the advantage of accumulating.  

Use a fine chord of dental floss to clean your teeth from the debris and the hidden plaque as well. Flossing is a supplement to brushing, and one cannot be eliminated for the other. Also, after flossing, smell the thread to check for any unusual smell. If there is a rank smell from the floss thread, it means your breath is toxic, and you must visit a dentist for the treatment of halitosis. 

3.SMELL OWING TO THE FOOD & DRINKS YOU CONSUME 

Sometimes, the bad breath emitted could be due to the consumption of certain foods or drinks. Few foods like onion, garlic, coffee, etc., contain sulfides that stay in the bloodstream for about 72 hours and expel via the breath. Sulfides and sulfur compounds smell the worst like rotten eggs. You can mask the sulfur odor by eating other fibrous fruits or vegetables that stimulate increased production of saliva to wash away the smell of sulfur. Sugary foods also lead to bad breath because bacteria in the mouth feed on these sugars and convert them into foul-smelling acids.  

5.DRY MOUTH 

A dry mouth causes bad breath and inadequate hydration, consumption of acidic foods or fast foods leave your mouth dry. The saliva acts as a defense by protecting your teeth from harmful bacterial reactions. When the mouth gets dry, and saliva production is reduced, your mouth starts emitting a bad odor due to the accumulation of bacteria. Drink plenty of water to keep your mouth hydrated and prevent dry mouth. 

6.SMOKING & ALCOHOL 

You might be aware of the odor of tobacco that comes from a smoker’s vicinity. Smoking or tobacco consumption leaves the mouth dry, and that combined with the odor of tobacco creates the typical smoker’s breath that is again bad.  

7.MOUTH BREATHING 

People who have a stuffed nose or suffering from chronic sinus conditions find it difficult to breathe via nose as it is all clogged up. Such people tend to breathe through the mouth. Mouth breathing happens when you have a common cold, but if the situation persists even after a couple of days and mouth breathing becomes a habit, it leaves the mouth dry. As you already know, a dry mouth will expel bad breath from your mouth. 

8.HEALTH ISSUES 

Sometimes, bad breath could be an alarming sign of a severe underlying health issue. When you have Periodontal gum disease, your mouth emits bad breath. Health conditions like heartburn and gastroesophageal disease (GERD) also cause bad breath because of the regurgitation of the food consumed. In such cases, bad breath acts as a symptom of severe diseases signalling you to get the condition treated at the earliest.  

Bad breath could be due to any of the above reasons, and to get rid of it, a proper dental hygiene routine is a must. Using a mouthwash or chewing gum will only be temporary moves of masking the toxic breath, but the permanent solution is maintaining good oral health. Visit our clinic, The Elite Dental Care, the best dental clinic in Tracy, California for a professional dental cleaning to get rid of plaque, halitosis and other dental issues.