FOUL-SMELLING body odor and bad breath are social taboos that tarnish the reputation of persons who, once “discovered,” are unfortunately “branded and condemned” for life. As members of society, all of us have the obligation to make sure our personal hygiene, appearance, and demeanor are proper, pleasing, and respectable, and not offensive to others. Osmidrosis or bromhidrosis are the medical terms for foul body odor. Halitosis (bad breath) is our topic in today’s column.
Dental reports in the United States state there are about 40 million Americans who have bad breath. In the Philippines, as in other regions in Asia, the incidence, conservatively speaking, maybe 30 percent or higher. The figure varies in different subgroups in the community. Oral health affects heart health.
‘… the next time you see your lover or friend, or relative, beg him or her to be candid with you and to tell you if you have bad breath.’
What causes bad breath?
Eating food that causes foul breath (like garlic, onion, fish sauce, durian, etc.), poor dental hygiene, decayed tooth or infection of the gums or oral cavity, diseases like diabetes, esophageal diverticulum, esophageal reflux, sinusitis, emphysema, etc. But the most common cause is poor dental hygiene, where care of the teeth and mouth is neglected.
There are people who do not brush their teeth at all and go to bed at night with food particles stuck between their teeth. They may gargle and rinse their mouth with water (or water and salt) after each meal, or even use mouthwash, but the food caught between their teeth (especially meat and fish) rot and stink like dead animals on the street. This is putrefaction and the foul-smelling odor is from the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) produced by the decaying meat, which usually results in bacterial infection (and more bad odor), and this makes the cycle a vicious one.
Can mouthwash eliminate bad breath?
No, mouthwash alone cannot do the trick. First, the food particles caught between the teeth that will rot must be removed immediately after each meal by dental flossing. Toothpick alone will not do the job and may even injure the gums. The next step is tongue-scraping from all the way back to the base of the tongue to the front and then rinsing (gurgling) with water. The tongue harbors a load of bacteria that cause bad breath, more than people realize. Then, brush the teeth properly with a soft brush and gently brush the roof of the mouth. Mouth-rinsing is the final step in this routine as an added regimen, tilting the head back as your gurgle to rinse the back of the tongue also.
These are the four essential steps in the fight against bad breath, complimented by a dental check-up every six months. A study made on 15 mouthwashes showed that most masked the bad breath for a few minutes while only a few were still effective after a few hours. Ninety-nine percent of the products sold over the counter do not effectively eliminate halitosis. The best agent is stabilized chlorine dioxide, the ingredient found in Thera-Breath, CloSYS, ProFresh, DioxiRinse, and OroCare (Philippines), which kills the bacteria causing bad breath and neutralizes VSCs. Used as the final step in oral care (after dental flossing, tongue scrapping, tooth brushing), stabilized chlorine dioxide-containing oral rinse at least twice a day, is a magical way to eliminate bad breath.
Why don’t people know they have bad breath?
It is odd but most people with chronic halitosis do not know they have it. Their own sense of smell is so conditioned to the bad breath in their mouth to the point that they do not even perceive or know they have halitosis. One test one can do is to lick the top of their hand or their wrist and smell it. Unfortunately, their friends and relatives (including most spouses) will not even tell them they have bad breath, “to spare” them from the embarrassment (which actually leads to more future embarrassment because of the persistence of this very offensive problem.)
So, the next time you see your lover or friend, or relative, beg him or her to be candid with you and to tell you if you have bad breath. This honesty could change your reputation and love life, and your life as a whole.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He was a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, bestowed by the then Indiana Governor, later a Senator, and a presidential candidate, the late Honorable Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali, and Astronaut Gus Grissom (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
