I perform good oral hygiene but still cannot get rid of bad breath. Please help me.

Question

Hello doctor,

I have been suffering from chronic bad breath for the past few years. I did not get it diagnosed, though. What confuses me is that I perform good oral hygiene but still cannot get rid of it. I went to a dentist two months back, she just cleaned my teeth, and it seemed like it worked, but after one day, it came back again. I do not know what to do now. I am tired of isolating myself. Please help me.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your query and understand your concern. The most common cause of bad breath is a gum condition called gingivitis. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums caused by constant irritation due to tartar/calculus (hardened yellow deposits on the tooth). Food deposits or plaque that settles on the teeth get calcified in the long run and become hardened calculus deposits. Constantly irritated gums become weak and may occasionally bleed along with bad breath, which is caused due to the deposits and the associated bacteria. A professional scaling and polishing procedure is done to remove that calculus. Once removed, the gums take a day to heal, and the bad breath settles. This procedure can be done once in six months if required.

Although we do a proper brushing every day, there are certain spots between teeth where the bristles fail to reach. Hence a professional tooth cleaning is always advised once in a while. Specific brushing techniques can be followed to prevent calculus accumulation. Get to know that from your dentist.

Rinsing the mouth after every meal and night brushing and tongue cleaning will help prevent these deposit formations.

I hope this helps. Further queries, I would be happy to help.