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• Banish Bad Breath And Gum Disease!
• Bad Breath Cure Revealed
• The Bad Breath Report: Cure Bad Breath The Quick & Easy Way!

• Avoiding the Embarrassment of Bad Breath
• Dealing with Halitosis
• Stopping Bad Breath
• Bad Breath in Pets
• Halitosis Myths and Reality
• The Importance of Good Oral Hygiene
• Acid Reflux Disease and Bad Breath
• Occassional, Situational, and Chronic Bad Breath
• Bad Breath in Children
• Bad Breath and Radiation Therapy

Halitosis Myths and Reality

There are several misconceptions about what causes bad breath.  It is important to know the real causes of bad breath in order to remedy the problem successfully.

First, some people believe that halitosis comes from the stomach or lungs.  This is false.  Halitosis rarely comes from the stomach.   Similarly, it is rare that halitosis will come from the lungs unless there is a serious disease present.

It is also believed that certain foods cause bad breath.  Though foods such as onion, garlic or cauliflower do cause bad breath they do not cause chronic bad breath.  Someone can simply avoid these foods to keep from getting bad breath.  A person can simply avoid those foods.

It is believed that the bacteria H. Pylori causes halitosis.  Helicobactor pylori is a bacteria that infects various areas of the stomach.  Many cases of peptic ulcer and some cancer may be caused by H. Pylori infections.   Even so, H. Pylori in fact does not cause bad breath.  What normally happens is that patients with peptic ulcers are placed on antibiotics to eliminate the H. Pylori bacteria.  These patients sometimes find that the chronic halitosis that develops as a result of the ulcer can improve.  Truthfully, the improvement is not a result of the elimination or reduction of H Pylori.  What happens is the antibiotics temporarily reduce the amount of anaerobic bacteria that contributes to the halitosis but it always returns.

There are also several misconceptions about products that can supposedly cure halitosis.  The truth is that commercial mouthwashes and breath mints do not help stop bad breath.  These products in fact mask the problem for a few minutes.  Alcohol based mouthwashes will make the problem worse because they dry out the mouth and increase foul breath odors.

Probiotic bacterial cultures are supposed to assist the immune system and make it stronger.  The substance is said to combat allergies, help decrease excessive alcohol intake, and help exposure to toxic substances.    However, probiotics do not help eliminate bad breath.  There is no scientific proof that probotics helps with the treatment of halitosis.  The benefits of using probiotics for treating bad breath is overstated and oversimplified.

There is the belief that brushing your teeth more than usual or rinsing your mouth with hydrogen peroxide will help eliminate bad breath.  These beliefs are also false.  If a person brushes their teeth excessively can dry out your mouth.  This will only increase the halitosis problem.

Rinsing your mouth with hydrogen peroxide is damaging to the tissue in your mouth and has never been shown to help treat halitosis.  The use of hydrogen peroxide occasionally will not cause significant damage to oral tissues but if the product is used regularly over time, it will break down the tissue in the mouth and can cause ulcers.

It is important to keep in mind fiction and reality when it comes to halitosis