Can Bacteria cause bad breath?

Bad breath is usually caused by the bacteria that live in the mouth.

The single most frequent cause of bad breath is associated with bacteria that live in the mouth.

Bacteria, like any living thing, eat foods and excrete wastes. The waste made by some oral bacteria are sulphur compounds and it is these volatile sulphur compounds that cause the smell  - known as halitosis, or bad breath.

Volatile sulphur compounds (VSC’s) are the main cause of bad breath, the bacteria that live in the mouth also produce other gases which have their own nasty smells.

Bad breath can be caused by the waste products of anaerobic oral bacteria.

The smell associated with bad breath comes from compounds such as hydrogen sulphide, methyl mercaptan, cadaverine, putrescine, skatole

• ·  Hydogen sulphide - the smell produced by rotten eggs
• ·  Cadaverine - the smell produced by dead bodies.
• ·  Putrescine - the smell produced by decaying meat.
• ·  Skatole - the characteristic smell of human faeces.
• ·  Isovaleric Acid - the smell of sweaty feet.

Not surprising that bad breath can be very offensive!

The mouth can be a home for hundreds of different species of bacteria.

Each strain of bacteria is trying to 'take over' and claim more living space. When the various types of bacteria are in balance, the mouth has a 'normal' odour. If the bacteria become out of balance, and one type becomes dominant, then there will be more odour, bad breath

These bacteria thrive on plaque (the whitish film that forms on teeth both above and below the gum line and also on the tongue) so the more plaque - the more bacteria - the more VSC's - the more bad breath.

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