Before opening your mouth, read this!
Bad breath, scientifically called Halitosis comes from certain bacteria deposits containing sulphur compounds with a rotten egg smell at the back of the tongue.
By Herbert Mugarura
Bad breath, scientifically called Halitosis comes from certain bacteria deposits containing sulphur compounds with a rotten egg smell at the back of the tongue.
These mouth bacteria produce nasty chemicals like “putrescineâ€, which gives decaying meat its special fragrance, “cadaverine†that is usually given off by corpses, “skatole†and “methyl mercaptan,†which smell like faeces, the bacterial by-product “isovaleric acid,†which smells like sweaty feet and “hydrogen sulphide,†which smells like rotten eggs. The bacteria also emit “indole,†which smells lovely at low concentrations and is used sparingly in perfumes, but smells foul in large quantities.
Those who have more of the bacteria smell worse. It may be from the type of substances eaten or inhaled and excreted by the lungs, dental disease, fermentation of food particles in the mouth or associated with organic diseases like liver encephalopathy, diabetic acidosis, infections and cancer-tumours of the respiratory tract.
With diseases like diabetes or liver disease, sulfur chemicals build up in the bloodstream and get exhaled through the lungs as bad breath. The affected individual may not be aware of this. What is bad breath to the stranger may not be so to a spouse or relative.
Psychogenic halitosis exists where the individual complains of bad breath that is not perceived by others. This can happen in the anxiety state of a teenager in love for the first time, obsessive person with a pervading sense of uncleanliness or the paranoid individual with delusion that his organs are rotting.
A certain chemical called trimethylamine (which smells like bad fish) is produced from the food we eat. Luckily, most of us produce an enzyme that gets rid of trimethylamine. But some people have low levels of this enzyme and remain with high levels of trimethylamine in the body.
These molecules get picked up by the blood stream, travel into the lungs and the air stream, and eventually come out through the mouth –– giving these poor unfortunates the persistent odour of rotting fish. The trimethylamine also comes out in the sweat and the urine.
There are a few dozen obscure causes of bad breath. The tonsils cause about 3% of bad breath. In 5-10% of cases, bad breath happens in the nose –– from sinusitis, or a reduced mucus flow, or rarely, a foreign body. In the majority of bad breath cases, 85-90% is generated in the mouth, mostly from the back of the tongue.
The bacteria responsible for bad breath live in tiny holes on the shag-pile surface of the tongue. A small percentage of mouth-generated bad breath comes from diseased teeth or gums.
Mel Rosenberg professor of Microbiology at Tel-Aviv University says that those who are most at risk of bad breath are people who talk a lot such as teachers, politicians, lawyers and radio announcers.
To rid off this bad breath requires not only daily brushing and flossing, but regular, thorough periodontal cleaning of teeth and gums by qualified dentists. Clean the back of your tongue with a scraper or a toothbrush. Taking breakfast stimulates salivary flow and cleans the mouth.
To avoid dry mouth, keep on sipping water from a glass or chewing gum. Rinse and gargle with a mouthwash just before sleep. This slows the growth of bacteria overnight.
Rememb-erto clean the mouth after eating or drinking smelly foods and drinks such as garlic, curry or coffee. Also clean between the teeth after eating or drinking stuffs rich in proteins. If symptoms persist seek medical advice.
The writer is a doctor
“The mouth under normal circumstances contains bacteria, even the cleanest mouth,†says Dr.Yassin Ali, a specialist of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at Mulago hospital. In fact about 170 different types of bacteria reside in the mouth. These bacteria depend on food in the mouth for growth. According to Dr. Samanya Dansan a dentist at Fiona Clinic, it is normal for people to have bad breath in the morning when they wake up. This is because, when people close their mouths for long, the bacteria in the mouth cause fermentation, thus producing a foul odour.
What causes bad breath?
l- Poor oral hygiene
l- Bacterial plaque and food debris that accumulate at the back of the tongue
l- Decaying teeth
l- Crowded teeth, also cause food particles to be clogged between the teeth
l- Some foods like Garlic and cabbage and onions contain sulphur compounds, which cause the mouth to smell bad
l- Keeping quiet, fasting or dieting reduce saliva flow and contribute to bad breath
l- Not drinking enough fluids
l- Cigarettes and alcohol
l- Indigestion.
How to prevent bad breath
l- Brush and floss teeth regularly
l- Drink plenty of fluids, avoiding coffee.
l- Eat fresh fibrous vegetables. Avoid those foods likely to cause bad breath
l- Chew sugar-free gum, especially if your mouth feels dry, to stimulate saliva flow
l- Use a mouthwash recommended by a dentist or pharmacist
l- Visit a dentist regularly
Bad breath, scientifically called Halitosis comes from certain bacteria deposits containing sulphur compounds with a rotten egg smell at the back of the tongue.
These mouth bacteria produce nasty chemicals like “putrescineâ€, which gives decaying meat its special fragrance, “cadaverine†that is usually given off by corpses, “skatole†and “methyl mercaptan,†which smell like faeces, the bacterial by-product “isovaleric acid,†which smells like sweaty feet and “hydrogen sulphide,†which smells like rotten eggs. The bacteria also emit “indole,†which smells lovely at low concentrations and is used sparingly in perfumes, but smells foul in large quantities.
Those who have more of the bacteria smell worse. It may be from the type of substances eaten or inhaled and excreted by the lungs, dental disease, fermentation of food particles in the mouth or associated with organic diseases like liver encephalopathy, diabetic acidosis, infections and cancer-tumours of the respiratory tract.
With diseases like diabetes or liver disease, sulfur chemicals build up in the bloodstream and get exhaled through the lungs as bad breath. The affected individual may not be aware of this. What is bad breath to the stranger may not be so to a spouse or relative.
Psychogenic halitosis exists where the individual complains of bad breath that is not perceived by others. This can happen in the anxiety state of a teenager in love for the first time, obsessive person with a pervading sense of uncleanliness or the paranoid individual with delusion that his organs are rotting.
A certain chemical called trimethylamine (which smells like bad fish) is produced from the food we eat. Luckily, most of us produce an enzyme that gets rid of trimethylamine. But some people have low levels of this enzyme and remain with high levels of trimethylamine in the body.
These molecules get picked up by the blood stream, travel into the lungs and the air stream, and eventually come out through the mouth –– giving these poor unfortunates the persistent odour of rotting fish. The trimethylamine also comes out in the sweat and the urine.
There are a few dozen obscure causes of bad breath. The tonsils cause about 3% of bad breath. In 5-10% of cases, bad breath happens in the nose –– from sinusitis, or a reduced mucus flow, or rarely, a foreign body. In the majority of bad breath cases, 85-90% is generated in the mouth, mostly from the back of the tongue.
The bacteria responsible for bad breath live in tiny holes on the shag-pile surface of the tongue. A small percentage of mouth-generated bad breath comes from diseased teeth or gums.
Mel Rosenberg professor of Microbiology at Tel-Aviv University says that those who are most at risk of bad breath are people who talk a lot such as teachers, politicians, lawyers and radio announcers.
To rid off this bad breath requires not only daily brushing and flossing, but regular, thorough periodontal cleaning of teeth and gums by qualified dentists. Clean the back of your tongue with a scraper or a toothbrush. Taking breakfast stimulates salivary flow and cleans the mouth.
To avoid dry mouth, keep on sipping water from a glass or chewing gum. Rinse and gargle with a mouthwash just before sleep. This slows the growth of bacteria overnight.
Rememb-erto clean the mouth after eating or drinking smelly foods and drinks such as garlic, curry or coffee. Also clean between the teeth after eating or drinking stuffs rich in proteins. If symptoms persist seek medical advice.
The writer is a doctor
“The mouth under normal circumstances contains bacteria, even the cleanest mouth,†says Dr.Yassin Ali, a specialist of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at Mulago hospital. In fact about 170 different types of bacteria reside in the mouth. These bacteria depend on food in the mouth for growth. According to Dr. Samanya Dansan a dentist at Fiona Clinic, it is normal for people to have bad breath in the morning when they wake up. This is because, when people close their mouths for long, the bacteria in the mouth cause fermentation, thus producing a foul odour.
What causes bad breath?
l- Poor oral hygiene
l- Bacterial plaque and food debris that accumulate at the back of the tongue
l- Decaying teeth
l- Crowded teeth, also cause food particles to be clogged between the teeth
l- Some foods like Garlic and cabbage and onions contain sulphur compounds, which cause the mouth to smell bad
l- Keeping quiet, fasting or dieting reduce saliva flow and contribute to bad breath
l- Not drinking enough fluids
l- Cigarettes and alcohol
l- Indigestion.
How to prevent bad breath
l- Brush and floss teeth regularly
l- Drink plenty of fluids, avoiding coffee.
l- Eat fresh fibrous vegetables. Avoid those foods likely to cause bad breath
l- Chew sugar-free gum, especially if your mouth feels dry, to stimulate saliva flow
l- Use a mouthwash recommended by a dentist or pharmacist
l- Visit a dentist regularly