Dr. Wang Wei of the Department of Stomatology: What factors can cause bad breath?

Don't underestimate the dangers of bad breath. Bad breath not only affects people's daily social life, but also affects people's mental health, and bad breath has always been regarded as a disease. According to studies, the prevalence of bad breath in China has reached about 27.5%. There are many causes of bad breath. What factors can cause bad breath?

1. Cold

Colds can cause nasal congestion, causing people to have to breathe through their mouths. If you breathe through the mouth, you will lose a lot of water in the mouth, resulting in a decrease in water in the mouth, which will affect the self-cleaning function of the mouth to a certain extent, and bacteria are more likely to multiply in the mouth. Once bacteria multiply in the mouth, bad breath follows.

2. Sinusitis

Most sinusitis secretions do not have a special odor, but once affected by bacteria, they emit a disgusting odor that is recognized in both the nasal cavity and the mouth, so this secretion flows into the mouth through the passage between the nasal cavity and the mouth, causing bad breath.

3. Smoking

Most smokers have bad breath. This is because smoking reduces saliva production, resulting in a decrease in the ability of the mouth to clean itself, and tobacco smoke itself has a certain odor. Therefore, smoking is also one of the causes of bad breath.

4. Periodontitis

Periodontitis causes bacteria in the mouth to decay and break down the protein matrix. Once the protein substrate is decomposed by bacteria, volatile sulfides are produced with a certain odor. Therefore, periodontitis is also one of the causes of bad breath. There is only one solution to bad breath caused by periodontitis, and that is to completely cure periodontitis.

5. Food

Many foods, such as onions and garlic, can also cause bad breath. Garlic contains a component called allicin, which contains a sulfide that can cause bad breath when left in the mouth. The same is true of onions, which also contain sulfides that can cause bad breath.

6. Stomach disease

There are many gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic gastritis and stomach ulcers, which are also the cause of bad breath. In addition, many patients with Helicobacter pylori also have bad breath. This is because Helicobacter pylori infection produces sulfides, which cause bad breath.