What’s causing your bad breath? It could be as simple as what you ate for lunch, or it could be a serious oral health issue. The most common bad breath causes include foods like onion and garlic, poor oral hygiene, infections in the mouth, and medications.
Thankfully, our dentist in Lafayette, LA, Dr. Michael Young, can get to the root of your bad breath and treat it appropriately with preventive dentistry. He may recommend a regular dental cleaning, a deep dental cleaning, and/or lifestyle changes.
1. Regular Dental Cleaning
In many cases, a regular dental cleaning can quickly put an end to bad breath. If you haven’t been brushing or flossing as often or as thoroughly as you should, our dentist and dental hygienists can remove the plaque build-up that is likely causing your smelly breath.
During a regular dental cleaning, we use professional tools and techniques to clean all the surfaces of the teeth, the tongue, and the gum line. This involves a mirror, floss, professional-grade toothpaste, a polisher, and sometimes a scaler. Each tool is gently used to remove plaque and tartar that are likely causing bad breath and can also lead to oral health issues like cavities and gum disease.
2. Deep Dental Cleaning (Scaling and Root Planing)
If you have gum disease, a deep dental cleaning (AKA scaling and root planing) can reverse the disease or stop it from progressing. This treatment may be done at the same time as your regular dental cleaning or during a separate appointment.
First, we use an ultrasonic scaler to remove plaque that has built up along the gum line and below the gum line. The bacteria from gum disease create pockets below the gum line where they hide and multiply. Eventually, these pockets cause the gum tissue to pull away from the teeth– this is called gum recession. To promote healing, we make the rough areas of the tooth roots (root planing).
Ridding the mouth of this harmful bacteria will greatly improve the smell of your breath.
3. Lifestyle Changes
There are several lifestyle factors that contribute to bad breath, including:
- High sugar diet
- Smoking and tobacco use
- High protein, low carb diets
- Mouth breathing
- Certain medications
If you can relate to any of these, our dentist in Lafayette, LA, may recommend some lifestyle changes.
For example, if you eat sugary foods or drink sugary beverages throughout the day, you should probably cut back to once a day (at the most). And although a high protein, low carb diet is very popular right now, it could be contributing to your bad breath. A sudden reduction of carbohydrates will affect your body’s metabolism which can lead to bad breath. Additionally, the body can have a difficult time processing high protein foods, causing them to release sulfurous gases which lead to bad breath.
Of course, patients who smoke or use tobacco products should quit immediately to improve their oral and overall health.
Mouth breathing and certain medications can cause dry mouth, which often leads to bad breath. Our dentist can work with your general practitioner to determine the underlying cause of your mouth breathing or find a remedy for dry mouth caused by certain medications.
Get treatment for bad breath today!
Whatever is causing your bad breath, our dentist in Lafayette, LA, can help. Contact our friendly dental team, serving families in Lafayette and Delcambre, today to schedule an appointment. Call 337-237-6453 or message us online.
