Advice please - Worst breath in a living human

[Teagoanngoanngoann]

My DS has horrific breath. He always has. He is now 22. Its so bad i have to put my top over my nose if he sits next to me. My DH thought someone had got into the car with dogmess on their shoes yesterday but it was the car filling up with his breath. I have taken him to docs who just said to try changing his diet. He eats the same as us and we dont all smell like this. I have today purchased CB12 mouthwash, new brushes, tounge scrapers and sugar free gum and have got him a dental appointment. I hope they can help. He has great overall hygiene. Showers twice daily and brushes teeth2 or 3 times a day because he knows he has a problem. Any other advice?

See a dentist ASAP
Otherwise does he have acid reflux?

Change his diet. He won't tolerate the same foods as you.

He has never mentioned acid reflux. Dentist is next week. Have forewarned them of the issue as am trying different dentist to see if we have more sucess. Have even considered investing in one of those flossing machines that shoots water out instead of using string floss.

Did the Dr check his tonsils?

Get him to go to gp as well as dentist just in case a health condition is causing it.

IAmrubbish. Any advice on what kind of diet would suit better thanks x

Sorry missed the bit about him already going to doc! Might it be worth a second opinion though? Breath smelling like dog mess sounds all wrong.

Have you looked up any info on tonsil stones? They collect in the crypts of your tonsils and ong they smell horrifc!!

Never checked his tonsils. He has a gp app next week for something else. Will get him to say again when he is there.

Will google tonsil stones and grab my phone and have a look with a flashlight. My require an extra jumper though!

Tonsil stones. No amount of brushing the teeth and tongue gets rid of the smell! They smell like poo.

This really isn’t normal. Dentist and GP appointments are great but he may need referrals to a specialist.

What about flossing? Does he do it daily?

Definitely look into tonsil stones. Problem is you cant always see them until they work there way out. He might be able to feel like there’s something there though. They really do smell horrendous try looking down on you tube for some vids to explain x

Has to be tonsil stones. If he presses on his tonsils inside his mouth does anything come out (there are some not so nice videos on you tube showing people do it).

If he has tonsil stones he’ll be aware of it, even if he doesn’t know what they’re called. You cough them up from time to time. If he’s never experienced that, you can most likely rule them out.

Bastard things. I have one in my right tonsil as we speak and it won’t come out.

Gum disease

I get stones sometimes you can weedle them out with a pick sort of gubbins.

Go to youtube and search for tonsil stones there're bad on there!!

Another one who thought tonsil stones.

The smell is vile (my DM used to get them - eventually had her tonsils removed).

They are basically made of detritus/bacteria that calcifies in the gaps/holes in the tonsils that can form as a result scaring from bouts of tonsillitis.

Did your son suffer from tonsillitis as a child?

Oral hygiene doesn't help as the smell is in the tonsils In crevices you can't brush - you can buy tools with a light to push them out but if your tonsils are very pitted from scaring them they'll probably refill. Only solution is to remove the tonsils.

I'd definitely look to rule this out before anything else if his hygiene is good.

Otherwise I'd look at a dietary issue.

Thanks everyone. Have loads of leads now. Actively encouraging him to floss more and will get a hygienist app too. Googled tonsil stones and got a dentists site which said poo breath can also be a sign of a bowel obstructions or poor digestion. So yet another thing to rule out. Will update when we figure out the cause or even better get a cure.

Sorry I don’t mean to be rude but if he’s 22 and it’s always been this bad, haven’t you sought medical advice before? GP, dentist etc?

My first thought, like pp, is tonsil stones. I recently experienced these for the first time and couldn't believe the ransid smell.

I hope he gets some answers soon. It must be awful for him.

Yes. We have been to docs several times over years but they just say to change diet or go to dentists. He goes regularly to dental check ups but we are changing dentists now to see if new dentist is more helpful. Will get him to mention tonsil stones etc to gp when he goes back....again!

I had tonsil stones, horrible. I did lots of gargling and eventually they went away. The dentist said cheerfully You just have manky tonsils!
He also referred to the yucky stuff as crypt debris, lovely!

I read about someone who'd had foul breath since childhood; it turned out they'd showed something up their nose as a toddler and it had got lodged there. Once it was removed the stinky breath was gone too!