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

By Web Communications
Baylor College of Dentistry
The Texas A&M Health Science Center
Monday, February 12, 2007
STORY: BREATH AND HEALTH
SCRIPT # 713  SHOOT:  01/16/07
AIRDATE:   Monday,  Feb. 12, 2007
DHC #21       Timecode: 21:05

As Valentine’s Day approaches, you might tackle a common problem that could affect your love life--bad breath. Some causes of bad breath can be a sign of a serious medical illness. News 8’s Dentist, Dr. Linda Niessen explains.

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.

Dentist Dr. Dale Greer comments, "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," added Dr. Greer. "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." 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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