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Anatomy of Bad Breath
Xerostomia - Dry Mouth FAQ
Bad Breath Doctors
Question:
Can't get rid of awful smell: I seem to be radiating a foul fecal smell. I have been to the doctor and he said he cannot pin point where the smell could be coming from. The only thing I can think of is I had a front upper (UL1) tooth root filled 25 years ago. It is also crowned and has a post inserted as well.
Although it isn't giving me any pain I'm wondering could it be giving off a bad smell. I have been to the dentist and he has xrayed it but nothing showed up. But the dentist said that if the post has gone out through the tooth at the root it is not showing on the xray but it still could be and the xray just isn't able to show it.
CAN A ROOT FILLED TOOTH GIVE OFF A BAD SMELL? I am not aware of a bad smell myself but I have been told by others that I radiate this bad smell off me and it smells awful like a bad gas smell or worse like a fecal smell.
As you can imagine it is very embrassing and humiliating and worse because I cannot find out where it is coming from to treat it. I have always been very hygiene conscious showering every morning, washing my hair, brushing my teeth, flossing etc. But now I am even more so. But still that awful smell persists. When I walk into a room within minutes someone says "what is that awful smell?" and I could just die. It really has got me very depressed and I prefer not to go anywhere unless I really have to. ...Visitor from Northern Ireland
Answer:
The description of your condition sounds very similar to what has been labeled "halitosis". This is the technical term for bad breath. What is happening is that the bacteria in the mouth are breaking down proteins. Two of the proteins cysteine and methionine contain sulfur compounds and when
they are broken-down will release this sulfur as a rotten egg smell.
The bacteria tend to be anaerobic (meaning that oxygen will kill them). They are found deep under the gums and under a coating on the tongue. So the tooth with the root canal filling may be one of the sources. Fortunately it is a curable problem, what is needed is a deep cleaning performed by the dentist and to have the tongue cleaned.
You may want to brush your tongue as an adjunct to your daily hygiene, along with using some of the produces which have things like chlorine-dioxide in them. These are special toothpastes and mouth rinses which will oxygenate the mouth. The filling and any crowns that may be present need to be checked for defects and ledges which may accumulate the bacteria along with the periodontal condition of the mouth being checked for any pockets which will hide the bacteria.
John Purpura, DDS
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