Ramya ( name changed), 25 years old Female ( Receptionist at front desk) reported to our Malligai dental hospital for the chief complaint of having bad breath from her mouth during the morning and also during the daytime.
When our chief doctor was interacting with her, Ramya explained that she was having low confidence in the job while communicating with the customers because she feels that her customers are finding difficult to come close to her when she talks. Her doubt is whether her customers and colleagues were not happy because of her bad breath.
Then Our chief doctor did a thorough check-up for Ms. Ramya and found that she is having a severe gum disease medically called as aggressive periodontitis. Bad breath, has drastically affected her job, and because of this, she was not able to have proper communication with the customers.Her situation demands her close explanation about her product and services to customers in a close contact where bad breath caused a lot of issues.
So we loved to help her in this situation. After proper treatment for periodontitis for Ms.Ramya using the latest therapy protocols by our resident Periodontist, Ramya got her problem solved and had the joyful environment at her workplace and she gained confidence in communicating with the customers.
The human brain is connected to the external world through five senses which are vision, hearing, sense of smell, taste, and touch.
When we go to any wedding, and other functions the pleasant odor or sweet smell of the perfumes used by the human beings around us gives us a lot of mood elevation. Vice versa we feel very unpleasant and very disturbed when we come across any persons with foul smelling odor around in our moods due to this.
What is Bad breath ?
Bad breath also called as halitosis ( in dental terms) is a persistent, unpleasant odor in exhaled breath, usually not severe sometimes it may be a symptom of the underlying health situation. Bad breath is often is due to result of poor dental hygiene, particular food that the patient eats and also due to other life style habits.
Bad breath also called as halitosis ( in dental terms) is a persistent, unpleasant odor in exhaled breath, usually not severe sometimes it may be a symptom of the underlying health situation. Bad breath is often is due to result of poor dental hygiene, particular food that the patient eats and also due to other life style habits.
How to identify bad breath?
1. lick the wrist with saliva and allow it to dry.
2. After 3 min just smell it and see
3. This is how others feel when you go near them
How People react to bad breath?
1. They might turn their face away when you are talking to them to avoid the bad smell from your mouth.
2. People might move back a little bit so that they don't get the back breath on their face.
3. They might offer you mouth fresheners and mint other chewing gums very frequently when you go close to them.
4. The worst problem with bad breath is it becomes very personal even though the problem is with the tooth and the gums it could affect the person very badly.
Why bad breath affects a person's personality ?
Self-concept of a patient is made up of self-image, self-idealization, and self-esteem.
What are they?
Self-esteem: How much you like yourself?
Self-image: What do you think others think of you?
Self-idealization: What do you/Whom do you want to become like?
When you have severe bad breath, it will affect your self-image very badly, and it will certainly affect your confidence also.
There was a patient who once shared the story, which this patient had chronic bad breath during a meeting when one of his office colleagues has told that his bad breath is disgusting.This caused a deep depression for this patient, and it affected him very severely.
What are the causes of bad breath?
Food and beverages :
Certain foods like garlic, onion, spices, cheese, meat may causes bad breath until they are eliminated from oral cavity. High consumption of alcohol, caffeinated drinks and low carbohydrate diet can cause bad breath.
Improper brushing of tooth and tongue causes food entrapment in between the tooth leading to rooting of the food resulting in bad breath.
Chewing tobacco or smoking :
Chewing tobacco or smoking causes bad breath because of the nicotinic product present in it.
Health issues and bad breath
Chronic lung infection :
Long standing infection in lungs like chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, pneumonia results in bad breath.
Diabetes :
Patient suffering from diabetes may have gum inflammation, frequent pus discharge in the oral cavity which may cause bad breath.
Bacterial infections :
Certain food accumulation on the back of the tongue causes the favourable environment for bacterial infection leading to bad breath.
Respiratory infection :
Respiratory failure and infection in the upper respiratory tract cause bad breath. Nasal discharge at the time of cold causes bad breath.
Liver or kidney failure :
Liver or kidney failure at times causes mousy rat, fishy odor in the breath.
Gum bleeding :
Bleeding gums, food and plaque accumulation in the gums causes bacterial accumulation leading to bad breath.
Sjögren's syndrome :
Sjogren's syndrome is associated with dry mouth, rheumatic arthritis, and kertoconjuctivitis . The dry mouth may lead to an acidic environment in the oral cavity which may lead to bad breath.
Periodontal disease :
When the gingival diseases are not treated at the initial stages, it affects the periodontium, leading to periodontal diseases. These periodontal diseases result in bad breath.
Do you know that periodontal disease can cause heart attacks?
Periodontal diseases cause release of toxins which can transfer from oral cavity to the bloodstream and helps in the formation of fatty plaques in the arteries which may cause blood clot thus leading to blockade of blood circulation resulting to sudden heart attack. So when you have gum diseases consult the dentist at the earliest before it causes heart diseases.
Patient suffering from rheumatic arthritis should be given antibiotics before giving any dental treatment as the bacteria from the oral cavity can directly hit the heart which may at times leads to death.
Mouth ulcers :
Mouth ulcers are the painful condition which occurs in the oral cavity when there is oral ulcer it may be single large or multiple small ulcers which leads to bad breath.
Medications :
Consumption of certain medication like antihypertensive drugs ( ACE inhibitors) , antisialagogues causes decrease in salivation leading to dry mouth and bad breath.
Salivary gland disorders :
When there is the destruction of salivary flow due to certain salivary gland disorders like pleomorphic adenoma or sialolith may cause the decrease in pH of saliva creating acidic nature in the oral cavity leading to bad breath.
Symptoms of bad breath :
If you have the following symptoms, you may have bad breath, and you need to consult your dentist immediately.
1. Foul smell in the oral cavity :
Certain systemic diseases like gastric oesophageal disease, liver or kidney failure may result in foul odor indicating the systemic diseases because of which you may feel the bad breath.
2. Anxiety :
Bad breath may affect your inner peace of mind and makes you to be the very anxious person.
3. Stress :
Mouth ulcers in the oral cavity may occur due to stress. Stress ulcers at times cause severe lousy breath when left untreated at the earliest.
4. Dry mouth :
Decreased salivary flow leads to lowered pH of the oral cavity which leads to dry mouth. The dry mouth can be an indicator of bad breath at times.
Diagnosis of bad breath :
The following diagnostic method can be used to detect bad breath. Bad breath can be categorized into various level according to the odor.
Halimeter:
The bad breath is caused due to volatile sulfur compounds. Thus the decreased level of sulfur can be detected using Halimeter.
Gas chromatography :
Gas chromatography is the standard method of detection of bad breath caused by volatile sulfur compound.
BANA test :
BANA test uses various enzymes which helps in the detection of the bacteria causing the bad breath.
Prevention of bad breath
"Prevention is always better than cure"
Brushing teeth and tongue :
Brushing teeth twice daily and use of tongue scrapper is essential to remove the food accumulated in the teeth and tongue after eating, this helps in prevention of bad breath.
Flossing :
The proper method of flossing once a day keeps you away from bad breath.
Replace the toothbrush :
It's advised to replace the toothbrush two months once or as soon as the bristles of the tooth brush worn out replacing the toothbrush regularly may improve bad breath.
Avoiding certain foods:
Avoiding onion, garlic may helps you to stay away from bad breath.
Care of denture:
If you wear denture, remove them at night and clean to get rid of bacterial build up from the foods and beverages.
Hydration:
Drink plenty of water and swish cold water around in your mouth. This is especially helpful to freshen " morning breath."
Regular dental checkup :
Regular dental checkups and cleanings are required to stay away from bad breath.
Holistic methods of prevention of bad breath
Cloves, fennel seeds, and aniseeds
Chewing a handful of cloves, fennel seeds or aniseeds helps to fight against bacteria causing bad breath due to its antiseptic qualities.
Parsley
Parsley is rich in chlorophyll, a breath deodorizer with germ-fighting qualities helps in prevention of bad breath.
Citric acid fruits
Citric acid stimulates the salivary gland and encourages the flow of breath freshening saliva.
So we found that Ms.Ramya had bad breath due to periodontitis and improper brushing. After treatment ( scaling and periodontal treatments) and giving the motivation and knowledge about the bad breath, Ms. Ramya followed the instructions strictly, and bad breath subsided in a year. She started gaining confidence in communicating with the customers, and her colleagues began having a comfort zone with him.
So if you or you family members, colleagues or friends are having this problem, you can approach Malligai Dental Hospital in Chennai for your bad breath or your nearest dental hospital at any time and have confident smile with your family and at your working environment.