If you're one of those people that suffers from chronic bad breath, it can be more than annoying. It can affect your relationships, your career, and even your own self-esteem. Don't lose heart; in many cases, finding the cure for bad breath can be as simple as discovering the underlying cause.

Surprisingly, awful-smelling breath can come from more than just what you ate. In most cases, the cause is pretty simple, but in others, it can a bit more serious.

Dehydration
Water is one of the best things you can drink, as it not only flushes out your body of toxins, but can also clean your teeth from the bacteria that feeds on it as well. Unless removed, these bacteria can grow and cause your break to reek. Consider going in for a deep cleaning at your dental office, or, more simply, just drink more water.

Overweight
For reasons that are completely unknown to doctors, there is a strong correlation between people that are overweight and who also have bad breath. It may have something to do with a biological dysfunction, but either way, it's another incentive to drop a few pounds.

Salivary Gland Dysfunction
Salivary glands are responsible for lubricating your mouth in order to smooth movement. Salivary gland dysfunction can have symptoms such as dry mouth, which contributes to bad breath because saliva is responsible for removing matters that cause bad odors.

Antidepressants
Many individuals take anti depressants to treat disorders, however antidepressants also have the side effect of dry mouth. With dry mouth, your mouth cannot produce the regular amount of saliva as it normally should.

Diabetes
With fluctuating blood sugar levels that individuals with diabetes experience, they produce more ketones which often result in bad breath.

Smoking
Smoking causes smoke residue that is left in the throat and the lungs, and these chemicals stay in the mouth which lead to bad breath. Tobacco has long term consequences such as causing chronic bad breath because it dries out the pallet.

Alcohol
Drinking large amounts of alcohol leads to dehydrating which dries out the mouth and reduces the production of saliva.

Tonsil Stones
Tonsils are a common sources of infection that build up anaerobic bacteria that thrives  of food particles which is responsible for causing bad breath.

Badly decayed tooth/teeth
Bacteria takes up the area where teeth decay. If the teeth experiencing decay are not cleaned properly, more bacteria may gather. Bad breath is one of the symptoms of undiagnosed tooth decay because essentially the tooth is rotting. 

Dental Abscesses
Dental abscesses are caused by bacterial infection and is pus that forms within the teeth, gums, and bone holding the teeth in place. A symptom of dental abscesses is bad breath because the mouth of full of bacteria.

Gum Disease
Gum disease happens when gums become red, swollen, and bleeds easily. Many patients find that they don’t notice gum disease because it is not painful. However, if you bleed while you’re brushing your teeth, that is a sign of gum disease and bad breath too.

Hairy Tongue
Hairy Tongue is not a disease; however, it is where the tongue overproduces keratin that causes the buds on the tongue to grow longer than normal. This can cause bad breath, so it is important to maintain strong oral health.

Something More Serious
Stomach ulcers or something even more serious than that can be the cause of stinky breath, so if you suspect something is amiss at your next visit, get it checked out by your primary care doctor.

What Can I Do?
The fix for breath that reeks is the same as most health problems: eat a balanced diet, practice good oral hygiene, and make sure to have regular dental check ups. The causes of bad breath vary, but many of them can be diagnosed by the proper professional, such as the dentist over at Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre, who are more than willing to give you a proper treatment. Contact us today to book an appointment to find out how to improve your breath.