What are the symptoms of bad breath?

Bad breath usually has specific symptoms. Symptoms of bad breath include:

• Abnormal dryness in the mouth,
• White deposits on the tongue,
• White residue around the teeth,
• A constant need to clear the throat and feel itchy,
• Bad breath that worsens in the morning,
• A sour, metallic, rusty taste in the mouth.

How to Get Rid of Bad Breath?

Before answering the question “How to get rid of bad breath?” the source of the bad breath should be found and a treatment plan should be developed for it. The first source of bad breath is usually the mouth, teeth and intraoral tissue. For this reason, oral hygiene should be provided first. Oral, dental and gum cleaning should be done meticulously, and the tissue above the tongue should also be brushed. Since bridge teeth and dentures are open to food compression, they should be renewed if they are worn out. One of the methods that temporarily eliminates bad breath is chewing gum. Chewing gum stimulates the salivary glands, increasing the flow rate and the amount of saliva secreted. Saliva also helps eliminate bad breath due to its antibacterial and food-breaking effects.

One of the factors that causes bad breath is dry mouth. Water should be consumed frequently to prevent this dryness. Since saliva secretion decreases physiologically, especially in advanced ages, water consumption should be increased. Water also stimulates increased saliva secretion.

Another method to eliminate bad breath is to use antiseptic mouthwashes. For this purpose, mouthwashes containing 3% hydrogen peroxide, two-phase water-oil, copper chloride oxohalogen, and zinc iodide can be used.

If there is a persistent bad breath problem despite ensuring the hygiene of the mouth and intraoral structures, the patient should be examined for other systemic diseases. Treatment applied to the existing disease that triggers bad breath will also help prevent bad breath. If it is thought that bad breath develops due to respiratory tract diseases, it is necessary to consult a chest diseases specialist, and if it is thought to be caused by the digestive system, it is necessary to consult a gastroenterology specialist.