Dry Mouth and Bad Breath

If you have a dry mouth, you’ll have less saliva.  And less saliva in your mouth can lead to bad breath.  Saliva is very important to dental and oral hygiene since it performs the following functions:

•    Saliva provides necessary enzymes which are needed to digest your food.
•    Saliva helps to stabilize the pH levels in your mouth, which in effect control the amount of acids that are present.
•    Saliva provides adequate levels of oxygen which are needed to keep the tissues in your mouth fresh and healthy.

Dry mouth, otherwise known as Xerostomia, means that you have less saliva.  This means that there will be less oxygen in your mouth.  When oxygen is lacking an anaerobic environment will be created which is perfect for the production of bacteria.  Bacteria in the mouth will create sulphur gases which will give you bad breath and also leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The shape of your tongue can also determine whether or not you have bad breath.  The rougher that your tongue is the more likely you’ll have bad breath since there will be more grooves in which bacteria can hide.  Everyone has a specific shape and texture of tongue which can be an inherited factor in the freshness of your breath.

Some people will have a hairy tongue.  This means that the papillae, the fibers of the tongue, are longer than average.  These long fibers can trap in those bacteria that produce foul smelling sulphurs. 

If you scrape your tongue or brush it extra hard to combat bad breath you may develop what is known as “burning tongue syndrome”.  This syndrome occurs when you develop sensitivity to certain conditions such as hot, cold, or acidic foods.  If you have a tongue that is sensitive you’ll want to stay away from mouthwashes and oral rinses that have an alcohol base. 

Once you know that bad breath and a dry mouth go hand in hand you can take steps to make sure that your mouth remains wet with an ample amount of saliva.  Chewing on gum throughout the day can help to keep the saliva flowing but make sure that you use sugarless gum so that you avoid tooth decay.  You can also try keeping a bottle of water with you at all times so that you can wet your whistle once you feel that your mouth is getting too dry.  Bad breath can be an unpleasant part of your life until you learn some of the tricks of avoiding it.