TREATMENTS FOR BAD BREATH:-
Bad breath is not a disease but is a clinical sign of a diseased condition mostly in mouth or sometimes in stomach, rarely in lungs etc. So once the cause of the disease is identified and treated the bad breath disappears.
Most common problem of most of the people is that they are not confident with their breath or that they have bad breath. The problem can vary from very mild to severe and occasionally or through out. This may result in losing self confidence and the stress due to this may cause psychological traumas. The over all results will affect your personality too.
Major causes of bad breath and treatment options:
1) Dental decay/ cavity :-
A dental caries may be visible to your eyes if it is on the outer surface of the teeth in the lower jaw and may not be visible to your eyes if it is in between two teeth or if it is in the upper jaw. A dentist on oral examination and with or without the help of an X-ray can diagnose a dental caries.
Treatment:-
– Filling of the cavity after the removal of the caries.
– Material of choice can be a tooth coloured composite bonding or an inlay or onlay depending on the situation. Inlay or onlays can be of metal and ceramic.
– If the cavity is deep or if it involves the pulp, a root canal treatment is advised.
2) Gum infections:-
Gingivitis / periodontitis are the infection of the gums which causes bad breath. Periodontistis causes the surrounding bone damage and result in mobility of teeth. Bad breath is a clinical sign of the underlying gum problem. Lack of hygiene and irregular dental check ups, infection of teeth are the major causes. Gum infection may result from various systemic diseases too- diabetes.
Treatments:-
– Deep scaling and medication
– Curettage
– Flap surgery
– Bone grafting
3) Calculus / Plaque:-
These are hard and soft deposits that gets accumulated and discolours teeth which causes bad breath and leads to gum infections. It is precipitated from saliva and food. The colour of these deposits may vary from whitish yellow to dark brown, which cannot be removed by brushing. This has to be removed by scaling by a dentist or a dental hygienist. If not treated at the right time these may lead to bone loss of the surrounding bone under the gums and around the tooth.
Treatment:-
Scaling / Cleaning:-It is a painless procedure where the hard discoloured deposits and stains are removed by a machine using ultrasonic vibrations. It does not damage the teeth and there is no grinding of teeth. Polishing the tooth is a must after scaling. Mild sensitivity may appear which is very rare and will disappear in two to three days.
Other associated problems causing bad breath:-
– Gastro-intestinal problems
– Sinusitis
– Cold with infected yellow sputum
– Lung infections
– Cancerous lesions
– Other systemic diseases
It is always ideal to rule out and treat all dental problems prior to diagnosing the other associated problems causing bad breath as the clinical signs may mislead the doctors.
