Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Breath Problems

By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, July 11, 2005

STORY: BREATH PROBLEMS
SCRIPT # 611  SHOOT:   6/22/05
AIRDATE:   Monday,  July 11, 2005
Daybreak and Midday
DHC #21       Timecode: 21:05

What you eat affects the air you exhale. But some causes of bad breath have nothing to do with diet. Dr. Linda Niessen looks at breath problems and the latest treatment in today's segment of Dental Health Check.

Most people don't need a special monitoring device to detect their bad breath. This machine measures sulfur levels, just one cause of halitosis. Onions, garlic, and other foods produce mouth odor from sulfur.

Brushing, flossing, and rinsing should eliminate most bad breath problems. If not, you may have a more serious reason for a mouth odor such as… periodontal or gum disease, a dry mouth, tooth decay or a medical illness, like diabetes.

Dr. Dale Greer, Dentist, says, "Some bad breath can come from areas besides the mouth. It could be the lungs, the throat area or maybe through the sinuses."

Smoking also causes bad breath. So does dipping or chewing spit tobacco.

Brushing with an electric toothbrush may improve your breath.

" Brush your tongue while you are at it. There are fissures in your tongue that can collect bacteria and fungus and get fungal infections. Those can cause bad breath. So if you think you may have bad breath, also brush your tongue," said Dr. Greer.

Get a professional cleaning. A dental hygienist can remove bacteria under the gum line that can be causing problems.

Rinse with a mouth wash that kills bacteria such as Listerine.

A new mouth rinse by Crest kills germs and does not contain alcohol which can cause dry mouth.

Bad breath that doesn't go away with with brushing, flossing, and rinsing could have a more serious cause. So make an appointment with your dentist for a thorough evaluation. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science Center, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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