Is Your Diet Causing Bad Breath?

Having bad breath is not exactly a life-threatening issue, but it can be an indicator of a serious health problem. It is also extremely embarrassing and it can negatively affect your social interactions with others. Just ask yourself this simple question:

What do you do when you run into someone with dragon breath?

You likely end the conversation as soon as politely possible and you run for fresh air.

People also tend to make negative assumptions about you if you have bad breath. Most people assume bad breath is due to laziness and people who fail to take proper care of themselves. Once you get marked as someone with bad breath, the stigma can be very hard to shake off. Having foul-smelling breath will certainly affect your social circle and your ability to build intimate relationships.

Fortunately, bad breath can be eradicated by properly taking care of your teeth and eating foods that promote fresh breath. The things you consume affect the way your breath smells. You probably did not need this article to figure that out. When was the last time you had fresh breath after eating onions? Exactly. The foods you eat affect the bacteria count in your mouth and each comes with its own aroma, good or bad.

Here is a closer look at how the things you eat affect your diet.

How your diet affects your breath

The most obvious culprits when it comes to your diet giving you bad breath include odorous foods like fish, garlic, onions, and coffee. Most of the time, the smell that's associated with consuming odorous foods can be removed by simply brushing and using a mouthwash after eating. If you consistently have bad breath even though you do not consume that many odorous foods, that is typically an indication of a more serious issue.

According to a recent study, about 90 percent of bad breath cases have nothing to do with the bacteria in your mouth. Your mouth serves as a host for different types of bacteria, similarly to the way your stomach does the same. These bacteria should not cause foul-odors if your mouth is healthy. However, when you are dealing with a dental disease or other oral health issues, new species of bacteria start making your mouth their home, leading to bad breath.

For example, if your mouth does not produce enough saliva to keep it clean, the quantity of bacteria inside your mouth increases exponentially, leading to bad breath. Reasons for why you might not be producing enough saliva include diabetes, dehydration, and certain treatments/medications that reduce your saliva flow.

Having bad breath is not always a result of your diet or the bacteria in your mouth. It can also be because of a handful of respiratory illnesses like tonsil infections, gastrointestinal diseases such as esophagitis, and problems with your endocrine system like diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Want to know more about how your diet can lead to bad breath?

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Dragonfly Dental of Port Charlotte,request an appointment in our Port Charlotte dental office here: https://dragonflydentalportcharlotte.com. Or call us at (941) 676-9225.