The Bad Breath Blog

If you’ve been following the oral care headlines lately, you may have noticed more attention being paid to triclosan. What’s going on here? What has triclosan got to do with good dental health and fresh breath? Nothing, if the news stories are any indication. Multiple studies have shown that, while natural products like probiotic care kits address bad breath sensibly, those that contain triclosan may be doing more harm than good.

Specifically, researchers have noted that excess triclosan use might encourage oral bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. That’s clearly a problem…

Pesticide pushes the limits of safety

Tufts University has published a number of documents online suggesting that Americans need to go easy on all the triclosan. But wait! you say. I’m not buying barrels of the stuff, so why should I worry about it? The problem, as any oral healthcare expert can tell you, is that many synthetic dental products contain triclosan.

In particular, common toothpastes and mouthwashes include the stuff. While the ostensible reason is pretty logical (i.e. triclosan is an antimicrobial agent), the effects of using this chemical make its inclusion totally nonsensical.

For starters, triclosan is a pesticide. Look it up. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s commonly used to kill mildew, bacteria and funguses on crops. Not something you want swirling around in your mouth, is it?

Now, you might that think triclosan is fine as long as it’s used orally in small doses. The EPA once felt that way, too. However, the agency has begun to rethink this position based on recently collected medical data. It has decided to initiate a full review of human triclosan use, starting in 2013.

Bacteria get used to it

The problem with triclosan isn’t simply that it’s a synthetic chemical. What’s also at issue is the way consumers use it.

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Memorial Day is just around the corner, and that means parades, beach trips and, of course, barbecues. Hamburgers and hot dogs are two staples of the holiday, something that lots of folks look forward to. But what they may not be thinking about is that franks, wieners, dogs and burgers can cause bad breath.

Believe it or not, there’s research to back this up. Lots of research.

Nitrites: Hot dogs’ hidden cause of halitosis

Plenty of ink has already been spilled about nitrites and nitrates, which are two preservatives used in hot dogs, mainly to prevent botulism. If consumed in significant quantities, these compounds increase the risk of cancer and hypertension. However, they may also lead to hot dog breath.

In an article published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and, in all seriousness, titled Haldane, Hot Dogs, Halitosis and Hypoxic Vasodilation, researchers explored how eating nitrite-laden hot dogs can increase the amount of nitric oxide in your blood, causing bad breath, among other things.

A separate study appearing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has a rundown of the complete odor spectrum, good and bad, emitted by frankfurters.

And if you think that academic articles only address the link between hot dogs and halitosis, you’re oh so wrong.

Hamburgers get raked over the coals, too

A newer study, this one published in the stern-sounding journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry, took a peek at the odor-causing compounds found in “ground beef added with garlic and red wine, and irradiated with charcoal pack.” (We’re pretty sure that means “grilled.”)

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As if ladies didn’t have enough to worry about, now there’s this. According to scientists in Brazil, being on your period can give you halitosis. And not only that, but even before you start menstruating, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can lead to bad breath.

The problem isn’t that the monthly visit changes your oral health routine. Instead, having one’s period causes hormonal changes that can lead to oral odor.

Don’t kill the messenger

In the human body, hormones rule your every urge, regardless of your gender. Whether you’re hungry, tired, aroused, scared, moody or satisfied, hormones are the molecular messengers that are helping make it happen. In fact, hormones help control nearly every major body function, including metabolism, immunity, cell turnover and reproduction.

They also evidently cause bad breath. Here’s how.

As cellular signals, hormones stimulate various cellular responses. Some of these can be pleasant, like when serotonin makes you feel more relaxed. However, others are less welcome. For instance, the messenger hormones that initiate menstruation can cause cramping, irritability and – according to the study – halitosis.

Dry mouth, too

For their investigation, researchers from the University of Campinas in Piracicaba, Brazil, took periodic measurements of the breath odor levels of both women and men. To do so, they gauged the levels of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in healthy participants’ mouths. (These molecules give oral odor its stinky scent.)

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TheraBreath’s own BLIS K12 probiotics got a bit of a boost this year, as a recently published study has confirmed that the specialty breath freshener has even more benefits than once thought. The report found that this particular brand of probiotic treatment may prevent oral candidiasis by keeping its pathogens from sticking to the walls of the mouth.

Not bad for a product that already modifies the flora of the mouth, eliminates bad bacteria, neutralizes bad breath and leaves the mouth smelling sweet!

What can’t probiotics do?

This latest investigation was conducted by researchers from Canada, Japan and New Zealand. The results – which appeared in the January issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology – indicated that BLIS K12 probiotics keep yeast from taking hold in the mouth.

Oral candidiasis, also known as thrush, is a painful condition caused by a fungal infection of the mouth. This disorder is pretty easy to notice: Besides causing rank bad breath, thrush also leaves the tongue coated in a startling shade of white. Many people with the condition appear to have a mouthful of cottage cheese.

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