Bad breath could mean something worse.

Oral hygiene has become an area of great concern in recent times owing to the growing number of people affected; 1 in every 4 persons. It is the third most common reason why people seek dental care, the first being tooth decay, and the second, gum disease.

Apart from poor dental hygiene or consumption of foods with strong smells like garlic or onions, bad breath could just be a signal for an underlying disease condition. Most bad breaths would go away with a concerted effort to kick out most bacteria and plaque in the oral cavity, the few that refuse to go away are simply telling you that their origin isn't in the mouth itself but somewhere else, sometimes as far as the intestines when they are obstructed.

When people eat food and inadvertently leave some particles in their mouth, and forget to floss immediately after, the breakdown of these food particles by bacteria produces sulphur compounds, which are notorious for their not so pleasant smells. It also turns out that people don't get to perceive their own bad breath as fast as their neighbours would, this is a fine case of the sense of smell being fatigued by the bad odour and adapting to it, requiring higher concentrations of the odour causing substances to evoke the sense of a bad smell. So it is best to ask a close friend or relative to gauge your mouth odour, as it can be difficult to assess it by oneself.

If no one is available, one way of checking the odour is to lick your wrist, leave it to dry, and then smell it. A bad smell on the licked portion of the wrist is likely to suggest that one has bad breath.

Home remedies like regular brushing, flossing, hydration and quitting smoking can help immensely with these types of bad breaths.

Rarer causes that would require medical intervention include: Mouth, nose and throat conditions like Tonsil stones: Sometimes you notice that when you sneeze, cough or perform any intense activity with your throat, small yellowish or brownish, foul smelling, bacteria loaded masses come out from your throat into your mouth. These are tonsil stones that form at the back of the throat from poorly swallowed food particles and produce odour.

Other causes include:

- Inflammation of the throat and sinuses

- Gum disease

- Xerostomia (dry mouth)

- Ketoacidosis

- Bowel obstruction

All of these are treatable by a qualified medical personnel.