6 year old DS has bad breath.

[mckenzie]

He eats a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and veg. He doesn't like sweets, crisps or chocolate although he is partial to a piece of cake or two (or three).

He cleans his teeth well morning and night.

Any ideas of what could be causing it and how I can cure it please?

TIA

This can be a sign of allergy or intolerance. My DS always has bad breath after eating dairy.

could be something like a throat infection, or stomach bug, is he complaining of anything like that?

Is he drinking enough? Dehydration can cause bad breath.

Has he got any teeth coming through? One of mine had awful breath when her back teeth were coming through. Can't remember how old she was now though !

oh yes rocket that is quite a common reason isnt it, i forgot about that

aha, that could be it as he does have one back tooth coming through. But I think he has bad breath for the last six months or so. it's just that it's particularly bad at the moment.

Thanks for the replies

my ds often has bad breath if he is coming down with something or having a growth spurt. He's been like this since he was about 2,5 and had a really nasty viral mouth infection with ulcers. Every time he was run down after that....ulcers and stinky breath. He hasn't had an ulcer sine he was about 4 (now 5.5), but still gets the stinky breath.

adenoids ? sinuses ?

do you think it's worth a trip to the doctors? or dentist?

bump for any other thoughts please.

Do you brush his teeth? You don't say how old he is but kids are unable to brush their teeth properly before the age of 7.

If you are worried I would take him the doctor or the dentist.

Sorry, I've just seen how old he is!!!

have you tried getting him to(or you doing it)brush his tongue. bad breath is caused by bacteria (which in turn could be caused by any of the above - or just normal). there is a lot of bacteria on the tongue. at the very least it wont do any harm and it should help the smell

Ds had bad breath alot when he had tonsilitie, has now had them out and not noticed it all now. His tonsils we full of pus and also bits of food, they were badly pitted and surgeon was shocked how big and infected they were.

Also dehydration can cause bad breath.

Another thought, does your ds know to brush his tongue as well as teeth?

We have never brushed his tongue and I dont think DS has ever done it himself. I'll look at it in the morning. I do supervise his brushing very carefully and I would say that he brushes his teeth very well and i always have a short go myself just to make extra certain. He still has all baby teeth at the moment.
My instincts tell me it is dehydration that is causing it but thanks for the other tips - I will follow them all up.

Threadworms are said to cause this ...

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