Halitosis study

   Bad breath, also called halitosis, is an unpleasant odor that comes out of the oral cavity and, in most cases, it is due to the fermentation of remains of food and debris. These remains attach to the tongue, cavities of caries, under the prosthesis or in gingival bags produced as a result of periodontal disease. Other sources of bad breath are also tobacco, alcohol intake, spicy foods, tonsils infection or oral acids in patients with regurgitation due to hiatus hernia.

In our clinic we will do a careful study of your breath to look for its origin and also, we will use specific apparatus to measure the gases of your breath (Oralchroma®) in order to offer you the most appropriate treatment.   

Bacteria that produce this fermentation release a many volatile products that, aside from being the cause of bad smell (with all the social consequences that this entails), are also toxic to gums causing gingival inflammation and favoring the appearance of periodontal pockets. Oral flora varies in each person and only some bacteria produce this bad smell.

The basic treatment to avoid halitosis is to improve oral hygiene. For this reason, you should brush your tongue, clean your teeth and prostheses thoroughly, use utensils for interdental cleaning (floss, interproximal brushes and / or pressure water) and, finally, visit the dentist to fix any possible caries, treat gum diseases and look for the most appropriate treatment. At this point, it is advisable to discourage the use of chemicals (menthol gum, chlorophyll pills...) that only hide the bad smell of breath and do not solve the cause of the problem.

Finally, it should be noted that, in most cases, patients don’t realize of their bad breath and that is why they don’t correct it. Our advice is to ask the people closest to you who, without feeling any shame, could warn you of the existence of bad breath so you are aware of it.