How Your Dental Hygiene Plays A Part In Bad Breath

A lot of people think that bad breath comes from the throat and from the things people eat. That is partially true. However, chronic halitosis is often the result of poor dental hygiene. In general dentistry, a dentist can tell when poor dental hygiene is at fault for a patient's halitosis. Here is how bad oral hygiene plays a part in bad breath. 

Food Stuck Between Your Teeth

Food can get stuck between your teeth. The worst of it is the meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and milk. These products are animal products, which immediately begin to decay when they have left the animal and are being prepared or processed in a factory. As long as they are frozen or refrigerated until consumption, they are safe. However, when they are stuck between your teeth, they resume the decaying process, rotting even faster because of the heat, moisture, bacteria, and darkness in your mouth. Decaying food will always make anyone's breath smell bad unless you floss regularly to remove the food particles. 

Food and Bacteria in Your Gums

Lots of bacteria grow and develop in your mouth. This is perfectly normal because the bacteria aid your digestion. Unfortunately, when the bacteria gets inside your gums along with bits of food, it begins to affect the health of your gums. It creates small masses of foul-smelling material that turns into a sticky paste known as plaque. This hardens and sticks to teeth, causing ongoing foul breath until the gums have been thoroughly cleaned and the plaque has been removed during a semiannual oral hygiene visit. 

Rotting Teeth

If you are unaware of the fact that you have a rotting tooth in your mouth, that is a double problem. It is a problem from the standpoint that the rotting tooth can go septic and cause a major full-body infection, and it is a problem from the standpoint that a rotting tooth will give you foul breath. Removing the tooth (or restoring it, if possible) will help remove the bad breath that is caused by the rotting tooth, but you may still need to address all of the other poor oral hygiene habits causing the bad breath to eliminate halitosis completely. 

A Cleaner Mouth Equals Pleasant Breath

It is hard to keep up with brushing and flossing. Yet, if you can manage to do both at least once a day and keep regular checkups with your dentist, you can cure it. At the very least your breath will not smell quite so bad, and at the very most your breath will be quite pleasant. 

For more information, reach out to a business such as Dental Arts.