Anna Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 My dh has recently developed a horrible bad breath. He went from no bad breath to horrible, terrible bad breath. What would you do? We're clueless about what's causing this. Should we see the dentist first, our family doctor, other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 no actual experience with this, but..... 1. how old is he? 2. how long has he had the bad breath? days? weeks? months? 3. has anything significant happened before you noticed it? out of town trip? accident? change in diet? sickness? it could be a symptom of something or a physiological change. I'd actually start w/ a nutritionist at a local health food store :-) Then a dentist, THEN a family doc, and lastly a specialist. Shoot- you might even try a chiropractor --lots of nerves that affect the way our body works. he could knocked something out of alignment that is preventing Body Part A from doing its job. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhondabee Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Oral health has been found to be an indicator of heart health. So I would err on the side of caution and see both - or at least call and talk to a nurse. Sending prayers your way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Does he have any sinus problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I'd certainly tackle it. Has he had any sudden changes in diet? If so, switch back. It could be dental. It could also be from constipation (sudden, in this case), but it could also be something serious. I've never heard of chiropractic fixing bad breath, but I find chiropractic care helpful so wouldn't avoid it. But I would do something now. I'm a bit different than Peek-a-Boo on this one, in that I'd get to a dentist as well as going to a nutritionist (a well trained one, not all health food stores have equally good ones, IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 1. how old is he? 2. how long has he had the bad breath? days? weeks? months? 3. has anything significant happened before you noticed it? out of town trip? accident? change in diet? sickness? He's in mid-50's. Bad breath has been present for maybe a few days to a week. No significant changes except he's drinking more coffee lately. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I would have him see the dentist. If he can't find anything wrong, I would next go to your gen. practioner. Oral health and heart disease are linked. If he gets a clean bill of health, I would look at diet. Sinus problems can cause bad breath, and so can excess caffiene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.griff Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 A few years ago (okay, over ten years ago) one of our neighbors had a child that was sick with a cold, and suddenly had horribly bad breath. When she took her to the Dr. thinking the child needed antibiotics due to the longness of the sinus problem, and the color of the nasal, excretions- the Dr. found pieces of a nerf ball stuck in her nose- that was the cause of the bad breath and sinus problems. Sorry, that's probably no help- I doubt your dh has any nerf parts imbedded in his nasal passages. But, if he's had any sinus problems that could be the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I would look in the back of his throat and see if he has tonsil stones. They would be located in the back of his throat , they look like white stones. If you see them you can use a water pick to get them out, or you could use a q-tip and gently press beside them and they will pop out. This is a common cause of bad breath. I would suggest using a tongue scrapper also. I used to work with an ENT specialist and these were common remedies he recommended. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.griff Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 OUCH! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 OUCH! :eek: LOL...It sounds pretty bad when you read it I guess:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 I just had another talk with dh about this. It seems he's been drinking a lot of coffee lately. Early January his job changed from driving all day to working in the office all day, every day.... and drinking... a lot of coffee... like at least 10-12 cups each day... could be more. Could the coffee be doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 That's what those things are called? What causes them? I remember someone showing me once and someone in my family gets them. I didn't know they had a name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Coffee breath, ick! I don't drink coffee, and the smell of someone's breath who has drunk coffee and not eaten is horrible, and if they smoke, too, it's intolerable if they've had nothing to eat yet. Please note that I have a very sensitive schnozz to certain smells... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*anj* Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I just had another talk with dh about this. It seems he's been drinking a lot of coffee lately. Early January his job changed from driving all day to working in the office all day, every day.... and drinking... a lot of coffee... like at least 10-12 cups each day... could be more. Could the coffee be doing this? Yes, it could. He should go a day without drinking it to see if his breath improves. If not, I'd look into it medically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 karin --they are called tonsilloliths --you can read more about them at wiki. I helped a friend track down information about "the little white things in her tonsils" a few weeks ago. Yes, we are Very Good friends, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I agree it's probably the coffee. I'd give it a couple days at least to let his system get back on track. maybe try Gatorade instead of coffee? Does he have any other favorite non-caffeinated drinks that will take his mind off coffee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I just had another talk with dh about this. It seems he's been drinking a lot of coffee lately. Early January his job changed from driving all day to working in the office all day, every day.... and drinking... a lot of coffee... like at least 10-12 cups each day... could be more. Could the coffee be doing this? Yes, as suggested he should try and switch by replacing the all day drinking to water. Coffee, both caff. and de-caff have very high acidic levels and it could be zapping his salivary glands causing his mouth to have dryness and create oral malodor. Sugarless chewing gum can in some cases stimulate salivary glands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Thanks! But you'll notice I carefully didn't mention WHO in my family gets them, right? Because I couldn't possibly get anything that causes bad breath... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo4 Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I agree with trying to go without coffee for a few days, but then try the dentist, because my husband only has bad breath when he is having a tooth problem. Last time was a root canal. UGH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 That's what those things are called? What causes them? I remember someone showing me once and someone in my family gets them. I didn't know they had a name. Yea, I have seen some so big, patients had to have a small incision to remove them. It's caused by bacteria, food and oral secretions. Not sure how scientific this is but, almost ALL the patients that had the larger ones slept with their mouth open..lol:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Yes. I googled it, and after reading the Wikipedia one, did some more reading and mistakenly clicked a link to a photo of a large one. Ick--I feel for the people that have large ones! I just can't believe I never knew what those were. A boy in my theatre programme showed me one in high school. I wanted to see it when he mentioned it, because, as I said, someone in my family gets them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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