The Certainty of Bad Breath 

We can be certain we'll have bad breath some time but do you know the causes of bad breath? You are familiar with the joys of bad breath- wake up with nasty morning breath, or have the stinky breath that's a result of eating too much garlic or onions, or have family step back a pace when we go to give them a kiss. Unless you are actively eating food that causes bad breath, you probably don't know what the cause of halitosis is.

Anaerobic Bacteria Cause Bad Breath

Our mouths are teaming with bacteria, bacteria that are supposed to be there, all of them breaking down and digesting food and doing other necessary things. The bacteria that causes bad breath is known as anaerobic bacteria. These are bacteria that thrive in areas without oxygen, especially under the surface of the tongue and at the back of the throat.

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They specialize in breaking down and digesting proteins. Proteins are made up of amino acids, two of which are Cysteine and Methionine. These two amino acids are high in sulfur. As these anaerobic bacteria digest the proteins, the resulting waste products have a bad sulfurous smell. Welcome to the world of bad breath!

Volatile Sulfur Compounds Make Your Breath Bad - Really Bad

The waste products created are known as Volatile Sulfur Compounds or VSC. The volatility means that the VSC are easily carried away on a breath, out to where other people can detect them. The two compounds that smell like sulfur are:

• Hydrogen Sulfide
• Methyl Mercaptan

Unfortunately, there are other waste products that add to smelly breath:

• Cadaverine - this is the smell of decaying bodies.
• Putrescine - this compound causes much of the odor of decaying meat.
• Skatole - this compound smells similar to human feces.
• Isovaleric Acid - this compound smells similar to sweaty feet.

No one is immune. Even babies can have bad breath. You may be wondering if everyone has these bacteria and not everyone has bad breath, what is causing bad breath for some?

How To Create More Bad Breath Bacteria

There are several things that lead to more anaerobic bacteria and/or more of their waste products being created.

The surface of our tongue is covered with papillae which are tipped with tastebuds. Anaerobic bacteria can be found in between these papillae. If you tongue is coated - go look in the mirror - that will cut down on the oxygen getting between the papillae. Even a coating as thin as 0.1 or 0.2 millimeters is thick enough to keep out the oxygen. This is also the case with plaque on your teeth. A very thin coat of plaque will keep oxygen from reaching areas around the gums and between your teeth, creating more places for anaerobic bacteria.

Keep Your Mouth Oxygenated

Saliva helps keep your mouth oxygenated. Dehydration will reduce the levels of oxygen, so drinking more water and less coffee and alcohol will help fight chronic haltosis. Smoking will dehydrate the mouth, so not all of smokers breath comes from just the smell of tobacco. Certain medications also are dehydrating.

Bad Breath and Diets

High protein diets increase the amount of protein that can be converted to VSC's. This is one of the reasons people who are on the Atkins Diet or on high protein, low carb diets often have bad breath. This doesn't mean that you don't need protein in your diet. It just means you need to balance it out with other good foods and you need good oral hygiene habits.  Sinus and allergy conditions that cause post nasal drip will also add protein-rich mucus to the back of the tongue and throat.

Bad Breath Products Can Cause Bad Breath

Even standard dental products can help cause bad breath rather than be the bad breath remedies that we hope they will be. Many mouthwashes contain alcohol, which is deydrating. Even toothpaste is not without it's problems. The majority of popular toothpastes contain sodium lauryl sulfate, the detergent in shampoo and soaps that makes them and your toothpaste bubble and foam. This detergent does nothing to eliminate anaerobic bacteria and can be damaging to the lining of your mouth.

There you have it. The primary cause of bad breath for the average person is the anaerobic bacteria that live in your mouth. Most people associate a coated tongue with bad breath, and they would be right. It's not the coating but what it covers that matters.

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