Bad Breath Symptoms
Summary: Bad breath symptoms that halitosis sufferers commonly complain include dry mouth, foul tastes, postnasal drainage, and white module tonsils.
Bad breath is caused by the oral bacteria that are present in your mouth. Common bad breath symptoms that Halitosis sufferers experienced, include a white or yellow film on the tongue, dry mouth, bitter/sour/metallic tastes, post nasal drainage, white nodules on the tonsils, brushing and dental flossing have no effect.
People with bad breath usually observe a white or yellow film on the tongue. This is caused by the accumulation of bacteria and nasal mucous and tends to be heaviest in the later areas of the tongue. For most patients, simply removing this film does not completely eliminate bad breath. The anaerobic bacteria that are responsible for the odorous smell of your mouth are found throughout the entire mouth and in the saliva.
Dry mouth is a common bad breath symptom and is the main causes of halitosis. Chronic dry mouth or xerostomia causes several changes to occur in the mouth. For one, the bacteria become more concentrated in the saliva and tend to evaporate sooner into the air. If this happens, bad breath becomes stronger and more obvious at greater distance. The drying of the mouth alters the pH or acid/base balance of the mouth providing an environment conducive to the oral bacterial growth. Dry mouth usually results in a metallic taste or bitter taste in the mouth.
It is common for people with bad breath to complain bad tastes in their mouths. Familiar descriptions are sour tastes, bitter or metallic taste. These tastes are usually the result of drainage from the sinus, medications being taken, dry mouth conditions, dental infections, leaking dental restorations, and certain oral bacteria. The reduction of salivary flow can result in bad breath condition.
Post nasal drainage is frequently a result of sinus conditions and allergies. It is a thick mucous that drips in the posterior region of the throat from the sinus regions, resulting to a frequent clearing of throat for people with bad breath condition. A person may not be aware that mild form of allergies can result in a mild drainage of mucous. Mucous typically contains large amount of bacteria and proteins from the sinus. These proteins are broken down to amino acids that anaerobic bacteria feed upon and in turn produce foul smelling wastes.
White nodules that are secreted from the tonsils are one of bad breath symptom. Usually, most people do not know about these because they are swallowed not knowingly. Due to the bad odor of these nodules, they tend to assumed as the reasons of their bad breaths.
If brushing and dental flossing your teeth make no difference in reducing halitosis, this can be a sigh of bad breath condition. Loss of self confidence and self esteem can also be a sign that you have bad breath. Most of the patients complained about their insecurities due to their halitosis condition.