Common Causes of Bad Breath
and Some Natural Treatments
By Dr. Denice Moffat
As a doctor, I go ahead and tell the client that they have bad breath (I usually call it by its scientific name, Halitosis,) and that it will clear if they do the work. I tell them that it will be used as an indicator of health as we go along. I feel it is part of my job as their health care practitioner. As a spouse, friend, relative or person on the street, a bit of tact is involved in telling someone they have bad breath.
Halitosis is defined as offensive or bad breath. Here are the top causes of bad breath that I see in my practice as a naturopath and as a veterinarian:
Sick bleeding gums—Pack White Oak Bark powder around the gums every night for 30 days. Also increase the amount of Vitamin C in the diet.
Rotten Teeth—This really stinks. It can also be associated with sinus problems. One key in diagnosing this is to ask if they have post nasal drip. Solution: Go to the dentist on a regular basis and get that work done. Floss your teeth and smell the floss. If it is the same smell as the bad breath, see your dentist.
Gastric Reflux—Smells kind of sour. Eating for your blood type should help and reviewing Fit for Life’s proper food combining techniques should also help. Fasting can also be good for this.
Kidney Disease—Smells like a dying animal. Uric acid is building up in the body. Appetite will be poor. Processing of proteins is not happening. After a few months, dead cell toxins affect the eating center of the brain and tell it not to eat, because nausea will occur. The tongue is often gray and pasty. It’s important to see a doctor or naturopath with this as it could be life-threatening.
Throat Cancer caused from smoking. OK, maybe I'm going a bit overboard here, but smoking sure does cause bad breath AND can lead to throat cancer. Cancer has a funny, sickly smell to it.
Yeast—This smells sweetish, but stale. The tongue will usually be coated with a sticky white coat and sometimes “crusties” will build up on the corners of the mouth. If the body is infected with yeast, there will also be a bad body odor and stinky feet. There are lots of products out there that will work if you keep searching. Try some Tom’s Natural Toothpaste with Myrrh in it for your teeth and take about 2 Myrrh Gum capsules every day for a couple of months for the systemic infection. Add lots of oregano to your cooking (they actually make Oregano tablets for yeast infections.) Brush or scrape your tongue as well as your teeth, and think about doing a water-only fast for 3-5 days. For more yeast tactics, click here.
Ketones—A byproduct of fat breakdown caused from starvation, dieting or diabetes. It can also be caused from a high protein-low carbohydrate diet (which throws the body into ketosis.) Is there an increase in thirst? Do you experience light-headedness, fainting, hypoglycemia, or brain fog? Do you forget to eat or skip meals? If so, you might want to have your blood sugar checked.
Side effects of some foods—It could be that supplement or herb you are taking is causing the halitosis, or some ingredient in a meal like garlic. You can pretty much tell when it’s garlic. My husband once told me I had bad breath and I tracked it down to the herb, Yucca. Different bodies process things in different ways. You can be your own Sherlock Holmes, or ask for help. That's why I'm here.
Dog/Puppy or Cat/Kitten Bad Breath—My pathology teacher used to tell us, “Cells are cells. They all act alike.” Treating bad breath in pets is much the same as treating bad breath in humans. One thing I’ve noticed though is that pets get sores on their tongue from Chlamydia or herpes infections more often than humans do. When this happens, the tongue can erode. When this happens, you will see lots of saliva, the pet tries to eat, but can’t, and they start to lose weight. Open their mouth, and check for sores. If it smells like rotten tissue and you see those tell-tale red sores, see your local vet. Feed liquid diets for a while until they recoup and their tongue heals.
If the teeth are red at the gum line, it could be a tooth coming in (pets will be less than 8 months of age) or maybe the teeth need cleaning (you will see lots of tarter built up around the back molars, on the canine teeth, or behind the front teeth.)
Don’t confuse these types of halitosis with the smell of healthy puppy and kitten breath which naturally goes away when the gut flora is established.
With all halitosis, it’s important to determine the cause of the bad breath and rectify it. That is the most effective way to treat it. Halitosis is a symptom of something not working right in the body (except when you eat garlic.) Healthy breath is part of a healthy body. These things can be corrected. Covering up the symptom with mouthwash or mints is only a temporary fix to a deeper problem.
If you have to live with someone who has bad breath, you know how awful it can be, and it's embarrassing to have to tell your partner about it. So let's work on it, together.
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© 2005 by Dr. Denice M. Moffat
For educational use only. Permission to make copies by you for you and your friends is granted. If you find this site to be of value, a donation of any kind or amount (including making an appointment, a referral, sending money or prayer) would be greatly appreciated. I believe we need to support those things that nourish us in any way if we'd like to see them around in the future! You are encouraged to consult a knowledgeable practitioner before utilizing any of the information in this site. Enjoy.
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Dr. Denice Moffat |
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1509 Highway 9 |
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Deary, Idaho 83823 U.S.A. |
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(208) 877-1222 Pacific Standard Time 9am to 6pm |
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Dedicated Phone Consultation Line: (208) 877-1969 |
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Index of Articles in this Section:
Bowel Movements-What’s Normal?
Breast/Lip Implants and FIR Saunas
Gingivitis/Periodontitis/Pyorrhea
· Chiggers
· Coccidia
· Flukes
· Giardia
· Isospora
· Ringworm
o Ancylostoma
o Anisakis
o Ascarids
o Baylisascaris
o Brugia
o Bunostomum
o Capillaria
o Dictophyma
o Dipetalonema
o Dirofilaria
o Draconculus
o Filariasis
o Gnathostoma
o Haemonchus
o Loa loa
o Onchocerca
o Schistosoma
o Strongyloides
o Strongyloides
o Thelazia
o Toxocara
o Toxoplasma
o Trichinella
o Trichostrongylus
o Trichuris
o Uncinaria
o Diphyllobothrium latum
o Dipylidium caninum
o Echinococcus
o Hymenolepis
o Sparganosis
o Taenia pisiformis
o Taenia saginata
o Taenia solium
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Sudden Infant Death (SIDS)/Nitrates