6 Comments

1. Sarah says:

   November 9, 2009 at 3:35 am

   The food just flushes out the bacteria in your mouth down your throat. But it builds back up again. I went through the same thing you’re going through. But it wasn’t until I went to a Periodontist that I got some real help. A periodontist gives you a more extensive cleaning than a regular dentist. As a kid I didn’t floss and brush before bed, so for 8 hours I slept with small food particles between my teeth that built up and eventually created pockets beneath my gums that I was unaware of. So when I got old enough to take care of my teeth, always flossing, always brushing, it was too late. The damage I did when I was little, having some cavities and fillings, caught up with me. Because no matter how clean my teeth were, I couldn’t get my breath under control. I learned that since our mouths are 98 degrees inside, and I didn’t brush or floss before I went to bed as a kid, it was kind of like leaving food and meat on the counter for 8 hours on a hot 98 degrees summer day. It will eventually start to rot and smell. This is what happens in our mouths when we don’t remove the food particles between our teeth. It starts to rot and build up on our teeth, creating large pockets beneath our gums that we’re unaware of. So no matter how much you floss and brush, you could never get to the build up and bacteria in those pockets. It has to be scraped off beneath the gums and large pockets. That’s what the periodontist does. They clean out those deep pockets, and in time those pockets shrink so that food and bacteria doesn’t build up in your gums anymore. They also may give you antibiotics if the bacteria levels in your mouth are too high. We have good bacteria and bad bacteria in our mouths. The good bacteria should be around 80% and the bad bacteria around 20%. Bad breath can occur when the bad bacteria outweighs the good bacteria. A genital bacterial infection is quite similar. I really wouldn’t be surprised if it could be transferred to someone‘s mouth from another person who carries the bacteria in their mouths or genitals. So I would keep my mouth away from other people’s mouths and privates. If a person isn’t careful, bacteria will be the least of their problems. Nonetheless, in most cases bacteria in your mouth will grow out of control due to dental reasons such as large gum pockets and is very common. If the periodontist finds that you have high bacteria levels in your mouth, they may give you antibiotics or an antibiotic mouth rinse after they clean your teeth. If you’re given antibiotics, it does remove both the bad and good bacteria, so make sure you replenish the good bacteria with foods like yogurt, and kefir. You can find a complete list of foods to eat on this website here: http://www.ific.org/foodinsight/2003/ma/friendlybugsfi203.cfm .

   So find a good periodontist (some periodontists need a referral from your regular dentist). And continue to floss and brush regularly, especially before bed. When you sleep, this is the longest time you will have with a clean mouth. So make sure it’s completely clean for those 8 hours. Flossing can be a pain, but one thing I do to make it easier for me to floss before bed is to keep the floss in the living room on the table next to me where I watch television. So at night when I’m watching television, and I’m all done eating for the day, I’ll pick up the floss and start flossing (since I’m just sitting there anyway). That way when I go to bed, all I have to do is brush. Then in the morning I brush once more to knock out that infamous morning breath and I’m good to go. You’ll be amazed at the difference in your breath throughout the day after you’ve seen your periodontist. After they shrink your gum pockets and remove old build up that your dentist can’t get to, you’ll feel like a new person. Here’s a link to the toothpaste and mouthwash that I use. http://www.therabreath.com/truth_bad_breath_new.htm . I found these products to work a little better than regular toothpaste. But you may find that regular toothpaste works just as well after your periodontal visits. Please note that I am in no way affiliated with any of these products. And I am not a professional dental hygienist either. I’ve just suffered for a long time with this problem and now I’m finally free. So I just wanted to share this information with others who are suffering with this same problem. Sometimes I felt like I was all alone. But I don’t want anyone else to feel that way. There is help out there for you. Good luck!