Malodour – A Breath Away
Malodour – A Breath Away
By Dr. Abhishek Bansal
Prosthodontist and Maxillofacial Prosthetist
Ever felt that people pull themselves back when you get too close when you speak? Saw people keeping their distance from you when you are not wearing masks? Maybe they don’t like you or maybe they do or maybe your oral health is to blame for the effect you have on people.Let us look into the matter and review how an oral health could be keeping others away.
What is Halitosis?
Halitosis/ Oral malodour/ Bad breath, you may know it by any of the names but that does not change the issue at hand. Halitosis is a condition where your breath is altered in an unpleasant manner. It is an offensive and disagreeable odor originating from the oral cavity. It may be due to various causes from which poor health hygiene and oral diseases are the most common. It is a common disorder and may be suffered by more than 50 percent of the general population.
Causes for Bad breath
Halitosis is an issue faced by many. It has a multi-causal relationship with many disorders, diseases, conditions and factors.Human breath is composed of various highly complex substances, some of which can lead to different odors leading to unpleasant feelings of halitosis. Causes of bad breath can be Intra oral as well as Extra oral. Intra Oral causes account for 80-85 % of all the halitosis cases. Most common causes and the causes which are probably affecting your breath right now are discussed below:
- Poor oral hygiene: Unclean or improper cleaning methods for oral health can lead to collection of food particles in the mouth. These stuck particles can invite various microorganisms to form plaque. Unclean teeth can add a foul smell to the breath you breathe out. Food can also deposit on the tongue and contribute to halitosis.
- Periodontal infections: Periodontal infections are usually caused due to poor oral hygiene. Periodontitis is a severe gum disease that damages the gum and can destroy the jawbone. The distance between gum and teeth widens which can result in bone loss. The infection is also a major cause in Halitosis.
- Odontogenic Infections: Oral microbes are the cause for the infection. Dental infection is often caused due to a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic bacterias. It can also lead to fever and facial swelling. Oral infections are the cause of the oral malodour in many patients.
- Xerostomia: Xerostomia is dryness in the mouth mainly due to lack of sufficient production from salivary glands. Saliva plays an important role in neutralizing acids produced from the plaque and washing away dead cells from teeth, gums and tongue. WIth lack of saliva, these dead cells and increase in acid in mouth lead to proliferation of the microbes. This causes halitosis.
- Mucosal Lesions: Mucosal lesions are caused due to injury, infection, disease, ulcers, etc. inside the mouth. These lesions become the cause of increase in microbes and various other diseases. Some lesions are more harmful than others. Untreated lesions can worsen and lead to infection. Mucosal lesions are also a cause for halitosis.
Halitosis has various other causes which might be worse than the one mentioned.
Is treatment really that important?
Oral Malodour often goes unnoticed by patients until it is too late- The impact on the social life of a person. It is a very unappealing factor to have in your life and can even lead to psychological health degradation. Effect of psychosocial relationships of bad breath is phenomenal. Also, an important thing to remember is that Halitosis can often be a sign of major disease and health conditions such as Diabetes Mellitus, Liver insufficiency, Tyrosinemia, Kidney insufficiency, Uremia, Liver cirrhosis, Syphilis, etc. These systemic diseases are extraoral causes of Oral Malodour and these diseases are often distinguished by the different types of odours they produce from mouth. Dentists can examine and diagnose the underlying issue leading to halitosis..Therefore it cannot be ignored.
Dentists are the first line of defence against Oral Malodour. They are proficient to analyse, diagnose and treat halitosis. Diagnosis also helps in treating the patient right and understanding the true cause of the disorder. Mouth is the face of a person and his health. Getting it done right is an important duty of the patient lest, an hostile disorder might go unnoticed and deteriorate health.
For more information on Oral Malodour, please contact ELITE Clinic and visit our Prosthodontist.
