Bad breath - Very embarrassing

[feelingkr]

I am mid 30's, Ive had bad breath for the last couple of years, have been treating with gastro tabs but not sure thats what it is.

A new development is tonsil stones, from googling i discovered what they were after being disgusted when they came out. I kept having a sensation that i had food stuck in my throat for about 48hours at a time, when the little white tonsil stone came out i was honestly shocked at the smell it was so bad.

Has anyone else found a cause etc?

I brush twice a day & tongue scrape, to be fair i hardly floss but honestly it feels more than an oral hygiene problem its deep rooted.

Help

Have you visited your dentist? Chronic bad breath, called halitosis, can have a number of causes including gut problems.

You need to start flossing. The amount of food and bacteria that get trapped inbetween the teeth is vile if it gets left.

Floss between your teeth and smell It and see if thats the problem. If it's not it could well be gum disease at this point

A trip to the hygienist?

I had my tonsils out because of tonsil stones, I had to pay though. I had really good dental hygiene, but the consultant said it was just because my tonsils were so scarred from many bouts of tonsillitis as a child and adult and food was getting trapped. Before that the only thing that I could do was to squeeze them out, which obviously wasn't much fun. Some people seem to successfully use a water pik but that didn't work for me.

AFAIK it's dependent on the surface of your tonsils, some have an uneven surface or pits in them that cause stones. Scarring from tonsilitis as a PP pointed out. Some people are prone to them, others never get them. Nothing to do with dental hygiene. If you can't manage (eg remove them) yourself maybe look into having your tonsils out.

As others have said, tonsil stones don't necessarily equate to poor oral hygiene so much as the surface geography of your tonsils. You can brush your teeth as much as you like but it wont stop small food particles getting stuck.

Electronic water glosses can help, as can regular salt water gargling. They can be (carefully and hygienically) manually removed if you can see them. I do know someone who has their tonsils out but that was as a result of the years worth of painful and recurring tonsillitis that left the tonsils in the state that they occured, rather than to rid them of the stones, and as I recall it was a very painful recovery.

*electronic water flossers - early morning typing fail.