We’ve all been there after eating garlic, onion, and other foods which contain sulfur-containing compounds. They don’t do wonders for our breath! Whilst bad breath linked to eating these types of food is never a threat to health, bad breath can be linked to more serious conditions.
We’re talking about ‘Perio breath’. This is bad breath caused by gum health-related issues (‘perio’ refers to ‘periodontal’ which is the umbrella term for gum disease-related).
In this piece, we’ll look at:
Perio breath is caused by bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria break down proteins and release volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), which give off an unpleasant smell. When you develop the milder form of gum disease (gingivitis), bacteria coat the tongue, gets in between your teeth, and starts to cause an unpleasant smell.
As a review in the Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine (JNSBM) explains, the inflamed tissues in patients with gum disease can serve as a source for the production of VSCs in the mouth. If someone develops gum disease because of extensive plaque buildup, their perio breath can become more intense.
Just as the health of your gums affects a person’s breath, the reverse is also true — bad breath that isn’t caused by gum disease can actually eventually lead to gum disease. The JNSBM review notes that this may occur when VSC-producing bacteria migrate to the gum tissues – though the connection is not yet fully understood by dental researchers.
One of the main symptoms of gum disease is gum recession. Once this occurs when gum disease erodes the gums overtime. Whilst gum recession on its own doesn’t directly contribute to bad breath, once the gums recede, your teeth aren’t as protected by your enamel, which stops cavities from forming.
This is when bad breath can become severe, as once cavities form and bacteria have a chance to enter the middle of the tooth where the living tissues are located, it can cause a deeply unpleasant smell and taste in the mouth.
So, whilst this isn’t a direct caused of gum disease, it’s the damage caused by gum recession that enabled decay to go ahead and cause a dental infection, which in turn, causes bad breath.
Gum disease ‘perio’ breath is often described as putrid, and akin to the smell of rotting eggs. The bacteria created when gum disease is developing give off the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs which we mentioned above), whilst they break down food particles and plaque located in your gum pockets and in between your teeth.
Some of the following symptoms can indicate that you have bad breath caused by gum disease. This said, regular hygienist visits are essential, as sometimes it’s easy for these symptoms to go unnoticed at home:
Unsurprisingly, the main way to prevent perio breath (bad breath caused by gum disease) is to rid the mouth of the disease.
The level of treatment depends on how advanced gum disease is. Here are a few ways in which we can help prevent bad breath caused by gum disease.
Scale and polish
In many cases, a scale and polish with the hygienist is all you need to reduce the amount of plaque in your mouth.
At Denpure, our hygienists use a powerful and painless treatment method called the Airflow, which is up there with the most effective equipment for reducing plaque in dentistry. It takes just 30 minutes, it’s totally minimally invasive, and uses a simple combination of air, water, and powder particles.
Fillings and root canal
If your gums have receded and you have suffered decay, we can look at cleaning out the decay, and providing a filling. Root canal treatment may be needed if the infection has seriously damaged the inside parts of the tooth. In many cases when patients come and see us early when they notice their teeth start to darken because of decay, root canal treatment isn’t necessary. We can also refer you for treatment to reattach the gums to the areas where your teeth are lacking protective enamel coating (which is vital for stopping decay and cavities).
Loose teeth/lost teeth
Gum disease is the main cause of tooth loss in adults. Once teeth become loose or lost, cleaning them can be a real challenge. Fewer teeth and loose teeth can also make you more prone to infections as a result of the lack of maintenance, causing significant bacteria build up, and even abscesses, which are small balls of pus at the base of infected teeth. At Denpure, we can provide low-cost dental implants (our prices are significantly lower than the average in our area of London), to reduce bad breath, and the other debilitating limitations that come with having loose teeth, or gaps in your teeth.
Contact us for a no-obligation consultation. If you’ve been worrying about bad breath and unsure of the cause, don’t worry.
Our dentists will help to find the cause and put a treatment plan together. If you choose not to go ahead with treatment, that’s completely fine. We are here to give you the facts, so you can help to make a decision about the future of your oral health, and your wellbeing. We look forward to seeing you.
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