A girl covering her mouth because of halitosis

What bad breath is, what causes it, what its symptoms are, and how to get rid of it

What is halitosis?

Halitosis is the medical term for bad breath. It refers to the foul, repulsive odors detected in a person’s breath. Halitosis can have a big impact on your social life and can literally keep people at a distance from you. Everyone suffers from some degree of halitosis at one time or another. It can be temporary, such as in the morning (morning breath) or after eating garlic, onions, or other foods known to cause bad breath. Halitosis becomes chronic when you suffer from it during most of the day, even after brushing and flossing.

What causes bad breath?

The vast majority (97%) of bad breath is caused by odor-producing anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that thrive in oxygen-deprived environments). These bacteria live in your mouth and feed on dead cells, food particles, and other proteins found there. As they metabolize these proteins, they release gases known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that give bad breath its bad smell. Give anaerobic bacteria a friendly environment (low oxygen, dry mouth, slightly acidic), a constant food source (poor oral hygiene), and time, and pretty soon you will have a mouth teeming with the anaerobic bacteria that produce bad breath.

To learn more about what causes bad breath and where it originates in your body, read our article on What Causes Bad Breath.

What are the symptoms of halitosis?

It is sometimes difficult to know whether you have bad breath. Here are some symptoms and associated conditions that may indicate you have it:

  • Bad taste in your mouth: metallic, sour, or bitter
  • Coated teeth
  • Stained teeth: yellow or brown stains
  • Mouth usually feels dry
  • Tongue feels dry, has a white or yellow film on it
  • Rhinitis (runny nose) or hay fever
  • Post-nasal drip or chronic allergies
  • Gums bleed or look swollen
  • Partially erupted wisdom teeth
  • Regular toothaches
  • Teeth feel loose
  • Tonsilloliths (tonsil stones)

If you have one or several of these symptoms, you may suffer from chronic halitosis. If you are in doubt, ask someone you trust and are comfortable with whether you have bad breath on a regular basis.

How to smell your own breath

It is often difficult to smell your own breath because people become acclimated to its smell. Even so, there are some tips and strategies that can help you detect whether it smells bad. You can read about them in our article on How to smell your own breath.

How To Get Rid of Bad Breath

We learned that bad breath is caused by an overgrowth of bad-breath-producing anaerobic bacteria. To get rid of bad breath, you have to remove the factors that cause the bacteria to overgrow in the first place. The leading factor is poor oral hygiene. Through proper oral hygiene, you can remove the bacteria’s food source and make your mouth less hospitable to them. Consistent, proper oral hygiene will reduce the population of anaerobic bacteria until they reach healthy, low levels at which bad breath is not a problem or even detectable. The most important part of proper oral hygiene is the mechanical removal of the proteins and other particles that the bacteria feed on.

Read our informative article on How To Get Rid Of Bad Breath to learn more about how to treat bad breath.