Bad breath, like indigestion, is merely a catch-all phrase for a symptom common to many varied and different problems. A normal, healthy mouth will not have an offensive odor, though it is true almost everyone experiences a furry, scuzzy mouth upon arising. This is typical and will disappear rapidly with talking or after breakfast since it is due to the oral inactivity of sleeping, a period of time when bacteria can act freely on food particles. While it is true that your mouth is loaded with germs (a normal adult probably has around ten million bugs in every drop of saliva), that is the way it supposed to be.

While still a baby you accumulate benign forms of streptococci, diphloccocci, and spirochetes, as well as other exotic varieties of bacteria. But this flora and fauna is important in keeping everything in balance, and without some of them this equilibrium could become upset. Any disturbance of our natural germ population could leave us more sensitive to invading microorganisms. Mouthwashes do upset our normal, resident flora. More important, however, is the question, “Does the random killing of oral bacteria with gargles really prevent halitosis?” well, in the first place there is no way you are going to kill even a fraction of the hundreds of millions of germs in your mouth and throat with a couple of gargles. Even if you killed a large fraction of the bugs, five deep breaths or one good kiss would probably replace in spades anything you might think you had accomplished. But even more important, bad breath does not result from ordinary mouth bacteria. Assuming that your halitosis is not a result of your insecure imagination, it might be due to poor dental hygiene.

Brushing and flossing your teeth will do wonders. If it is not something this simple, then an infection is a likely bet. It might originate deep within the throat, or be as superficial as canker sore. A tooth which is decaying or abscessed will also produce an unpleasant smell. Even certain conditions such as diabetes, lung, or liver disease could result in a distinctive odor. Therefore it is obvious that a mouthwash will do little to correct the underlying condition and at best will only superficially and temporarily change or “freshen” the breath. The other major cause of bad breath comes from eating those delicious meals that contain gobs of garlic and onion. We must confess that every one of us has a preference for salads with raw onions. Will a little Oraldene do anything to calm my dragon mouth? No! the “sweet” smell of garlic does not come from any residual odor lingering in your mouth or throat. From there it circulates all through your body, reaching your lungs, where it is exhaled with each breath you would have to stop breathing in order to really block out the odor, and that is a bit drastic. So skip the mouth wash. A stick of chewing gum or a mint will probably do more to mask the smell that all the breath listerine in Georgia. One remote possibility is that parsley root eaten before and after consumption of garlic will quickly diminish the offensive odor. And don’t fall into the trap of believing that “breath freshener mints” will in any way relieve a chronic condition. There is only one thing to do: go see a dentist or a doctor and find out what the underlying condition is that has produced the odor. An abscess or gum disease is a serious situation, which should not go untreated. Bad breath may be your early warning system.

How about sore throats? Surely something as bad-tasting a listering must be good for a sore throat even if it doesn’t do anything for bad breath? Wrong again. In the first place, the infection responsible for your sore throat is in such a location that a brief gargle will not amount to much. Even if you bathe the affected tissue for many minutes, you could not kill the bugs responsible. Most sore throats are due to virus infections, which will respond neither to antibiotics nor to mouthwashes. For those sore throats that are due to bacteria, only an antibiotic administered in tablet for or by infection will benefit the affected area. And the only wy anyone can determine whether your sore throat is viral or bacterial in origin is by a throat culture. This is very important for severe, long-lasting infections since the possibility of a strep throat (an infection caused by Group A beta hemolystic strstreptoccus) is dangerous and demands penicillin treatment in order to prevent rheumatic fever or heart or kidney damage. Symptomatic treatment.

To be continued next week.

 

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