All
causes of bad breath are not entirely understood jet, but in
most cases odors are produced mainly due to the anaerobic breakdown of
proteins into individual amino acids, followed by the further breakdown
of certain amino acids to produce detectable foul gases.
Tongue is
the most common location for oral bacteria causing
mouth-related halitosis. Unpleasant breath odors are known to arise
from proteins
trapped in the mouth which are processed by oral bacteria usually found
on the
posterior dorsum of the tongue, where they are relatively undisturbed
by normal activity and provides and ideal habitat for anaerobic
bacteria, which flourish under a continually forming tongue coating of
food
debris, dead epithelial cells, postnasal drip and overlying bacteria,
living and
dead.Other parts of the mouth may also contribute to the overall odor,
but are not as common as the back of the tongue.
Bad breath
may be transient, which means it will disappear after brushing one's
teeth, flossing, rinsing with specialized mouthwash and eating.
More serious
condition is persistent halitosis or chronic bad breath, which
is affecting some 25% of the population in varying degrees. Persistent
halitosis is condition which is in most cases caused by the metabolic
activity of certain types of oral bacteria. It
can negatively affect the individual's personal, social and business
relationships, leading to poor self-esteem and increased stress.
Sometimes
bad breath odors are produced due to few systemic (non oral)
medical conditions which may cause
foul breath odor, but these are extremely infrequent in the general
population. Conditions like diabetes, constipation, metabolic
dysfunction, chronic
liver failure, bronchial and lung infections, carcinoma or some genetic
disease may also cause persistent bad breath, but these conditions are
rare and may not display bad breath at all. They will
most likely show additional characters, which are more definitive than
the breath odor.
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