How to treat bad breath in the elderly

There are many reasons for bad breath in the elderly. The main reason is that the elderly's digestive ability is weakened, and the stomach and intestines are prone to food accumulation, which can easily lead to gastric reflux. Therefore, for the symptoms of bad breath in the elderly, we should emphasize nutrition and symptomatic treatment. They should drink more water, exercise moderately, pay attention to oral hygiene, and chew food slowly, which will help prevent and treat bad breath.

Five tips for relieving bad breath in the elderly:

1. Drink plenty of water

Elderly people are prone to dry mouth and bad breath due to the decline of endocrine circulation. At this time, the elderly should drink more water to keep the mouth moist and prevent dry mouth and bad breath.

2. Maintain oral hygiene

Experts suggest that when the elderly rinse their mouths, they should try to rinse deep into the mouth and the brushing time should be more than 2 minutes; the elderly who use mouthwash should hold the mouthwash for about 30 seconds. If conditions permit, the elderly should also wash their teeth once every 2-3 years.

3. Clean dentures

Many elderly people need to wear dentures due to tooth loss. At this time, they need to pay attention to the cleaning of the dentures. They need to clean the food residue on the dentures after each meal and soak the dentures in water every night to prevent bad breath as much as possible.

4. Chew slowly

For the elderly, chewing their food slowly can not only promote the digestion and absorption of food by the stomach and intestines, but also help accelerate the secretion of saliva in the mouth, which is very helpful in preventing bad breath.

5. Eat more fruits to promote saliva secretion

If the cause of bad breath is dry mouth, the elderly can eat oranges or drink juice because the citric acid in oranges can promote saliva secretion. Chew more coriander, kumquat, hawthorn, etc. to remove the taste in your mouth. Eat more fruits and vegetables, probiotic preparations, etc.

Experts remind that once bad breath problems occur, elderly friends do not need to be too nervous. They can go to the hospital for examination in time to confirm the cause and receive symptomatic treatment.

There are five main reasons why the elderly have bad breath:

1. Influence of tooth decay, residual crown or residual root, etc.

If there are buckled teeth, residual crowns or residual roots in the mouth, food debris will adhere to these diseased areas. After being acted upon by bacteria in the mouth, the food debris will ferment and produce bad breath. Bad breath will disappear as long as the caries, residual crowns or residual roots are treated.

2. Impact of periodontal disease

Periodontal disease in the mouth, especially chronic periodontal disease, forms blind pockets, produces chronic pus discharge and emits a foul odor. At this time, periodontal disease should be treated and blind pockets should be eliminated to eliminate bad breath.

3. Acute oral inflammation

When acute inflammation occurs in the oral cavity, such as acute periodontal abscess, pericoronitis of the third molar, etc., there will be some acute inflammatory secretions in the oral cavity, which will also cause bad breath. If these diseases are cured, the bad breath will disappear after the inflammation subsides.

4. Food remains in the gaps between teeth

The periodontal tissue of the elderly undergoes physiological atrophy, resulting in gaps between teeth. After eating, food debris stays in the gaps between teeth and produces a bad smell after being fermented by bacteria in the mouth. Therefore, you should pay attention to oral hygiene, brush your teeth in the morning and evening (before going to bed) and rinse your mouth after meals to remove food residues in the mouth, which can prevent bad breath.

5. Digestive tract diseases

The elderly have reduced digestive function and often suffer from indigestion or gastrointestinal reflux disease. The odor produced by food retained in the stomach can be exhaled from the mouth, which is also an important cause of bad breath. Bad breath will be eliminated as long as the digestive tract disease is cured.