Dentist: Help for Halitosis

Are you ready to seek out a dentist for help with your halitosis? Unpleasant odors coming from your mouth can be a huge setback in both your personal and professional life. Whether you already know that you have a problem or someone has recently brought it to your attention, the issue needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Start out by making sure that you are doing a good job cleaning and maintaining your teeth and gums. If the problem persists, it is time to make an appointment with your dental practitioner.

Your Cleaning Routine

Are you brushing your teeth at least two times daily? Are you flossing and rinsing with mouthwash? These are the first steps to making sure that you don't have a problem with bad breath. If you are skipping over these steps or performing them infrequently, there is a good chance that you are going to have odor-causing bacteria inside your mouth. When you exhale, the odors are released into the air around you.

Any dentist will tell you that your daily routine is the first step to fighting off halitosis. If you are not currently brushing, flossing, and rinsing on a regular basis, now is the time to start. For some, this will be enough to get rid of the odor and give them a fresh, clean start.

Seeing a Dentist

If the problem persists, the next step is setting up an appointment with your dentist. If you haven't been to see him or her in a while, be sure to schedule for a complete exam, including a cleaning, x-rays, and a full examination. Your dental practitioner will notice the halitosis and be able to offer you advice about what is causing it and how you can remedy the situation. If he or she does not bring it up over the course of the appointment, feel free to speak up and learn more about your options.

A dentist often discovers that the problem causing the halitosis is the tongue. Think about your daily routine. You brush, floss, and rinse but do you do anything to rid your tongue of food and buildup? Your practitioner may encourage you to purchase a tongue scraper to remove the odor-causing bacteria. This is a simple procedure that anyone can do at home. It takes around one minute to thoroughly clean the area and the cause of the bad breath is removed.

It is also important to seek out the help of a professional to make sure that the problem lies somewhere in your teeth, gums, or mouth. In severe cases, there is a chance that something else is causing the issue. The nose, tonsils, and esophagus can each be the culprit, however most physicians are more concerned about the odor being caused by some type of systemic disease.