What is the main reason for halitosis, or bad breath? Well, according to clinical studies, all that build-up of bacteria on the tongue is to blame.
Not only bad breath, but also other maladies of the mouth, even gum disease, have been shown to be somewhat linked to those odor-causing bacteria.
Obviously, brushing your teeth after your night's sleep won't help remove the heavy film called "plaque" that builds up on the tongue. It's a mixture of active bacteria and a chemical cocktail of odour-causing residues that they produce. The tongue's shape and surface are ideal for happily hiding these bacteria.
Brushing your tongue with a toothbrush only stirs up this plaque film, without effectively removing it.
A recent report by the American Dental Association News states that the accepted opinion of the experts in the field of halitosis is that the bacteria on the tongue is the main cause of bad breath.
Time Life, "The Medical Advisor", reports that; "When saliva collects in the mouth - particularly in depressions at the back of the tongue - and is digested by oral bacteria, powerful odours can result."
Volatile Sulphur Compounds (or VSCs, similar to the gasses released by a rotten egg) build up on the tongue. They are the waste products of the bacteria, and they smell terrible. Recent research suggests that these VSCs may even be the first factors to bring about the gum disease itself, and active gum disease also results in the release of more of them.
While volatile sulphur compounds are the principle causative agents of bad breath, the bacteria that live in our mouths also produce other waste products, and some of these have their own unpleasant odours too. A few of these wastes are:
Cadaverine - smells like a dead body
Putrescine - decaying meat-like smells
Skatole - typically, human faecal matter gives off this smell
Isovaleric acid - the smell of sweaty feet
Some level of this mixture of compounds is to be found in everyone's mouth, and there are no exceptions. For most people this can come as quite a surprise.
We don't notice the smell of these noxious chemicals when they are at low levels, but when they get high enough we can pick them up. When they are high enough for others to smell - then we have "bad breath."
The bacteria have an easy time finding places to hide on your tongue since the surface is rough and also there is typically a thin coating present made from a mixture of mucus (normal body production), and bits of food left over after eating.
If left where they are, the bacteria will happily continue producing all the odour-causing by-products that leave us with bad breath. From their "safe" hiding place on the tongue, away from any oxygen (which would kill them) they continue to grow and multiply exponentially.
This is the primary cause of bad breath, or halitosis. It also leads to increased risk of decay (especially root surface decay), and a decreased sense of taste. There are no shortcuts or magic pills - cleanliness is the solution.
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