DD has smelly breath - what could it be?

[JohnPeelwasmyhero]

DD who is 11, has vey smelly breath alot of the time. She does brush her teeth regularly, and when we tell her her breath smells.

DH reckons it's because she sucks her thumb alot. Could it be that?

Does she drink enough water?

Smelly breath in children tends generally to be a sign of dehydration, I've not heard about the thumb thing though.

What do you consider to be regular tooth brushing?

You can take her to the dentist and ask for advice.

I'd say dehydration aswell, is there a chance she could be constipated?
DD suffers a lot from bad constipation which in turn dehydrates her and she has smelly breath a lot. In her case I think it's a combination of both causing it.

Does she get Tonsillitis a lot?
DD's breath was awful until she had her tonsils out.

Cavities/caries? A rotting tooth makes for very smelly breath..

Aahh, bottleofrum, she doesn't drink as much as I think she should

She definitely doesn't have cavities - the dentist said she has good teeth and is unlikely to need a brace, despite her thumb being near-permanently in her mouth!

Right, how do I get her to drink more, without offering coke at every turn?!

does she floss?

try the fizzy peach-flavoured water (also raspberry and things). Clear and sold on the bottled waters aisle. Quite cheap, especially the own-brands.

unlike fruit juice it won't rot her teeth. It is surprsingly nice. Does contain artificial sweetneners.

It's also good for adults as it is very nice and pretty well calorie-free.

My younger sister had the exact same problem, and the only way mum got her to drink more was to offer drinks alot (because quite often my sis wasn't getting herself enough to drink out of pure lazyness that she couldnt be bothered to walk to the kitchen!), and every time my sis wanted a snack, mum would say "hunger is quite often mistaken for thirst. have a pint of water first, and if your still hungry, you can snack", and then sis would drink a pint of water in order to get her snack.

Maybe even a few casual mentions about the benefits of water (clear skin etc) might help her to start drinking more on her own!

Ohh Bottleofrum I love that - might do that to stop DD asking for snacks every 10 mins!!!

Also agree with the sports cap drinks, mine choose the water versions of those in the shop - over squashes etc.

Another tip though (I used to not drink enough, and still have to be reminded!!) is to make your own ice lollies - you control how much sugar, but they are such fun to make and eat.

Sinus problems can cause bad breath.