Bad Breath
We all have something we want to have noticed about ourselves. Maybe for you it's your hair or your eyes, your clothes or your smile. But one of the things you don't want anyone to notice is your breath. Of course, an occasional bout of bad breath, or halitosis, is not uncommon. Almost everyone has bad breath at some time or other, and approximately 25% of all adults are estimated to have bad breath on a regular basis.
Ten percent of chronic cases of halitosis are caused by odors coming from the lungs due to medical conditions such as kidney disease, diabetes, liver disease, or the metabolism of certain types of drugs. The other 90% of bad breath is caused by the degradation of naturally occurring bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria thrive in dark, oxygen-poor environments like your gums and the back of your tongue, producing volatile sulfur compounds, or VSCs. About 50% of these bacteria thrive in the back of the mouth under the papilla, or taste buds. The papilla are shaped like tiny mushrooms, and they provide the bacteria with a nice shady area to graze in.