What Does It Mean When Bad Breath Doesn’t Go Away?

The best part about keeping up with a consistent preventive dental health care routine is that you can stay ahead of potential dental issues, even before they become obvious. However, some common, seemingly minor symptoms are easy to ignore or overlook. For example, at first, bad breath might just seem like a temporary inconvenience, until you realize that it doesn’t go away. At our Dallas, TX, dental office, we can pinpoint exactly why your bad breath won’t go away, and help you eliminate it with an appropriate dental treatment plan.

You’re missing more plaque than you realize

One of the most common causes of consistent bad breath (also known as halitosis) is an adequate dental hygiene routine. Every day, oral bacteria cling to your teeth, gums, tongue, and oral tissues, forming plaque as more of them accumulate. If you miss a spot of plaque when you brush and floss your teeth, or you don’t brush and floss often enough, plaque will quickly harden into tartar. The more bacteria accumulate, the greater effect they’ll have, including releasing substances that make your breath increasingly worse.

Part of a tooth’s structure is decaying

When enough oral bacteria gather on your tooth structure, some of them can release enough harmful acids to erode your tooth enamel. Before long, the bacteria can infect the tooth structure underneath the enamel, leading to decay and the formation of a cavity. The accumulation of bacteria coupled with the decaying of your tooth structure can lead to prominent symptoms, including a severe toothache and the presence of chronic halitosis. The more your tooth decays, the bigger the cavity will grow and the worse symptoms like bad breath will become.

A section of your gums is diseased

Tooth decay is the most common chronic dental issue to result from excessive oral bacteria, but it isn’t the only one. Gum disease is the second-most common, and it involves the infection of your gums rather than your tooth structure. Harmful plaque and tartar may work their way underneath your gums, causing irritation, inflammation, and infection. As it progresses, the erosion of your gum tissues will grow more severe, leading to increasingly worse bad breath as well as bleeding in your gums, swelling, and more.

We can help make your bad breath go away

If your bad breath is embarrassingly persistent, then we can help you find out why and design a treatment plan to make it go away. For more information, schedule an appointment by calling Gentle Smiles in Dallas, TX, today at 972-329-7645 (972-329-SMILE).