Thursday, January 27, 2011

What Kind Of Bad Breath Do You Have?

Chronic bad breath is caused by anaerobic microbes that live mainly on the surface or just beneath the surface of the tongue. Anaerobic bacteria love an oxygen-poor environment and this is just the type of living space the tongue provides.
These bacteria feed on food particles, sinus drainage and post-nasal drip, producing volatile sulfur compounds like hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan as metabolic waste. It is these compounds that smell of rotten eggs or old, unwashed socks...
By the way, the same micro-organisms that cause chronic bad breath can also cause or exacerbate other oral hygiene problems and diseases. One example is gingivitis, or gum disease. Another is tonsil stones, which are caused by an accumulation of sulfur-producing bacteria and debris that become lodged in the tonsils. This debris, which can include mucous from post nasal drip, rots in the back of the oral cavity and becomes trapped in the tonsil crypts to form tiny, stone-like objects that are usually white in color.

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