The Taboo of Bad Breath
No one wants to have bad breath. We all know how disgusting it is to have someone breath garlic or onion fumes into one’s face. But this is temporary and understandable, even if not acceptable. How much worse then when someone is constantly exhaling fumes of decaying matter forcing even their closest friends to move away. Sadly few of us are prepared to tell even our best friend that he or she has smelly breath. It is often insulting and always hurtful to be told this, particularly as the sufferer may be so used to the bad breath that he or she no is no longer aware of it! This ‘developed tolerance’ or ‘prolonged exposure tolerance’ actually prevents us from being aware of our own body odours if they are constantly there. In fact the real sufferers are those close to the person as they are constantly exposed to the stinky smell. And yet a real friend will pluck up courage. There are delicate ways of suggesting a visit to the dentist or of directing them to our website. A real friend will thank you and perhaps even suggest that you yourself also have bad breath!
Why don’t we all have bad breath?
At one stage or another we all suffer from either temporary or constant bad breath. Perhaps one has neglected simple dental hygiene or has dental restorations that cause food to accumulate. Maybe there is a failure to maintain, repair and remove nightly false teeth or dentures.
Accumulation of food particles between crowded teeth, pockets of inflammation and nests of bacteria between the gums and teeth, perhaps a small chronic abscess somewhere in the mouth, any of a variety of endodontic lesions, grossly decayed teeth, the list goes on.