What causes bad breath?

When talking to others, you can actually smell their breath. If you have a friend with bad breath, it will give a very bad impression and will end the communication early. There are several reasons for bad breath, such as oral diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, food factors, etc. If you want to get rid of bad breath, you have to find out the specific cause.

1. Oral diseases: More than 80% of bad breath is caused by oral diseases. Patients with periodontal diseases such as dental calculus, caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, oral mucositis, etc. are prone to the growth of bacteria in their mouths, especially anaerobic bacteria, which decompose food residues in the mouth to produce sulfides, giving off a corrupt smell and causing bad breath.

2. Gastrointestinal diseases: (1) Diseases such as peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, and functional dyspepsia may be accompanied by bad breath; (2) Long-term constipation can cause bad breath and symptoms of autointoxication such as abdominal distension, loss of appetite, and irritability because harmful substances produced in the body cannot be excreted in time and are absorbed into the blood; (3) Studies in recent years have also found that the incidence of bad breath in people infected with Helicobacter pylori, which causes many gastrointestinal diseases, is significantly higher than that in uninfected people. After the eradication of Helicobacter pylori, the symptoms of bad breath are significantly alleviated. The reason may be that Helicobacter pylori infection directly produces sulfides, causing bad breath;

3. Food factors: People who smoke, drink, drink coffee, often eat spicy foods such as onions, garlic, leeks, or are addicted to stinky foods such as stinky tofu and stinky eggs are also prone to bad breath. Overeating at dinner or eating too much greasy food or using too much spicy and irritating seasoning, too much strong flavor and not enough light food, too short a time between dinner and sleep, too much food left in the stomach when sleeping, etc.;

4. Drug factors: Taking drugs that reduce saliva secretion, such as certain sedatives, antihypertensive drugs, atropine-type drugs, diuretics, and traditional Chinese medicine with warming and tonic effects, can easily cause bad breath.

5. Neuropsychiatric factors: Excessive psychological pressure and frequent mental tension lead to endocrine disorders, and the body's parasympathetic nerves are in an excited state, which reflexively leads to a decrease in the secretion of the digestive glands, especially the salivary glands, resulting in dry mouth, which is conducive to the growth of anaerobic bacteria and produces bad breath.