Bad breath - no idea what's causing or how to treat - help!

[Dentalprobs]

Have name-changed as this is a pretty mortifying problem. I have really bad breath and have done for ages. I brush at least twice a day for at least 2 minutes at a time with a good toothpaste and an electric toothbrush. I use UltraDex mouthwash twice a day which has left my teeth whiter but hasn't made any difference to the other problem. I floss about every other day, increasing flossing to every single day made no difference. I smoke occasionally but even when I went a month without smoking it made no difference. Not drinking alcohol and caffeine has made no difference either.

Within about half an hour of brushing, I get a taste in my mouth like dried blood. I use minty chewing gum all day but I really want to deal with the source of the problem now. I'm planning to go see my dentist about it but thought I would pick MN's brains first.

All advice welcome - thanks for reading

bump

Could be a number of things, like an abscess in your throat or infection with H. pylori bacteria in your stomach. Not sure if dentist can do the h pylori test so worthwhile checking with GP?

A dental check is a really good idea. Do you have problems with your tonsils or sinuses? Chronic infection in those areas can contribute to bad breath.

OP how are things now.
Have to admit to having the same problem. It's terrible.

Any news?

I had h pylori and went on the triple antibiotic thing. Still have bad taste in my mouth. Was told it was silent reflux. Have had lots of tests- throat, oesphagus etc

You may be lactose intolerant. Try cutting out milk/yoghurt for a week or two and see if it helps.

My son used to have awful breath that smelt like he'd shat in his mouth (sorry, tmi but true!). Not ill in any way. Spoke to dentist just mentioned it in passing and she suggested lactose intolerance as her daughter has it and breath was one of her symptoms. By heaven she was right!

If he has milk it takes a while for the symptoms to occur but yoghurt will have him stinking the day after. It also explains all the feeding issues (bottle fed) as a baby and am quite cross no doctor suggested LI as a cause as something could've been done early on.

I used to have tonsil stones stuck around my tonsils (they STINK) and have managed to shift them with some herbal and homeopathic remedies.

I used to have post nasal drip (mucus running from back of nose down to throat) which smelled and tasted horrible. Went to GP, he said it could be an infection or similar. Gave me a course of nasal spray steroids, made a huge difference.

How about visiting the hygenist? I think you need to floss twice a day and also use the teepee brushes too.

Constipation. Cause of bad breath...

appendix. my Mum suffered for months with bad breath a few years ago. like you she had very good dental hygene. never smoked drank coffee rarely. she mentioned it to her neighbour who is a patamedic and he told her to get checked out by her gp. he did a number of blood tests and within in a week she had her appendix out. her bad breath was gone too

Tonsil Stones? They smell very, very unpleasant!

Is there any possibility you could have something stuck in your nose or ear?

Two friend's had this happen to their children - one had put a piece of sponge up her nose and didn't tell anyone - her breath smelled like you describe and no amount of brushing teeth would clear it, apparently when the ENT Dr pulled it out it was tiny and rancid.

The other - her young son decided to clean his ears with cotton buds, the end came off and he knew he'd be told off for poking them in there himself so again said nothing - his breath started to smell long before he got the ear infection that resulted in the GP finding the missing end.

Are you on a high protein diet? Do you floss?

cut out the chewing gum, it makes it worse I think.