What is the reason for bitter taste in the mouth and bad breath? what to do?

Many people have experienced bad breath and bitter taste in the mouth. When you have bad breath, do you feel that the smell you exhale is very unpleasant? So what causes bitter taste in the mouth and bad breath? What to do about bad breath?

Bitter taste in mouth

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that bitter taste in the mouth is a sign of damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder and gastrointestinal heat, and may be related to oral diseases, indigestion, gallbladder diseases, liver diseases, etc.

Gallbladder disease

Bitter taste in the mouth is often related to the metabolism of bile, caused by the upward flow of bile heat. Especially a reaction in patients with gallbladder diseases (cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, etc.). Some people with poor gastric motility and esophageal inflammation may also have bile reflux into the stomach, which can also cause bitter taste in the mouth.

Irregular life

People who lead irregular lifestyles, lack of sleep, snore, breathe with their mouths open, or have oral inflammation are also prone to experiencing a bitter taste in the mouth. Some people do not have inflammation in their liver and gallbladder, but have consumed too many spicy foods, which causes a bitter taste in their mouth due to stomach heat.

Bad breath is related to unclean oral cavity, oral diseases (caries, periodontitis, gingivitis, etc.), indigestion (various gastrointestinal diseases), nasopharyngeal diseases, etc. Some systemic diseases such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, diabetes, chronic mercury poisoning, etc. can also cause bad breath.

Eating habits

Some foods can cause bad breath, such as spicy foods like onions and garlic, dairy products, sugars, etc., which will decompose into sulfides in the mouth, causing bad breath; lifestyle habits such as drinking coffee, drinking, and smoking can also cause bad breath.

In addition, frequent constipation will cause toxins in the body to not be excreted in time, which will cause bad breath. Dieting to lose weight or endocrine disorders in women during menstruation can cause bad breath.

Poor oral hygiene

Bad breath is mainly caused by not brushing teeth frequently, food impaction, severe untreated caries, and food residue in caries cavities, which can all cause obvious bad breath. In addition, a large amount of tartar accumulation, long-term pressure on the gums, and gum ulcers can also cause bad breath.

Oral Disease

Patients with gingivitis and periodontitis often have bleeding gums, and plaque and tartar accumulate in the mouth, which produce a foul odor after bacterial fermentation.

Gastrointestinal disorders

Gastrointestinal diseases such as indigestion, gastric ulcer, chronic gastritis, etc., due to food retention and fermentation or necrosis of ulcer tissue, the odor can enter the mouth through the food and cause bad breath.

Respiratory diseases

Such as bronchitis, sinusitis, atrophic rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, etc., due to breathing, the various odors they produce can be smelled in the mouth.

Drug-induced

Bad breath may occur if you take certain medications that reduce saliva secretion, such as certain sedatives, antihypertensive drugs, atropine-type drugs, diuretics, and traditional Chinese medicines with warming and tonic effects.

Other factors

Patients with certain systemic diseases, such as diabetes, scurvy, uremia, etc., may also have a peculiar bad smell in their mouth. Poisoning caused by the absorption of certain heavy metal salts, such as mercury, lead, phosphorus, etc., can also cause bad breath.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that dry mouth is caused by yin deficiency and lack of body fluid, or qi deficiency and yang weakness, which leads to the inability to retain body fluid. In addition to lack of water in the body, it may also be related to the following factors:

Mouth breathing

Suffering from oral diseases, poor alignment of upper and lower teeth, deviated nasal septum, enlarged inferior turbinate, nasal polyps, etc. These people often breathe through their mouths, and the air in and out of the mouth takes away more water, causing dry mouth.

Gastrointestinal diseases

Such as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, etc., can cause dry mouth, bitter mouth and bad breath. Excessive smoking, alcoholism, snoring, and sleeping with the mouth open can also cause dry mouth and bitter taste.

Vitamin B2 deficiency

When the body lacks vitamin B2, it can also cause dry mouth, as well as ulcers at the corners of the mouth, dry throat, and tongue ulcers. Elderly people with long-term dry mouth should be further examined. For example, some people with cancer may also have dry mouth, so don't take it lightly.

Psychogenic dry mouth

Excessive psychological pressure, neurasthenia, and frequent mental tension cause the body's parasympathetic nerves to be in an excited state, reduce salivary gland secretion, and cause dry mouth, which is conducive to the growth of anaerobic bacteria and causes bad breath.

How to relieve

Dry mouth, bitter taste and bad breath can occur at the same time, which are mostly related to oral diseases, unclean mouth, poor eating habits, indigestion, etc.

1. Maintain oral hygiene. Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth every morning and evening and after meals to reduce the growth of oral bacteria and relieve bad breath. You can carry mouthwash with you.

2. If there are local oral factors, full-mouth dental cleaning should be performed, such as teeth cleaning, to remove oral lesions.

3. Bad breath and bitter taste in the mouth are often caused by anaerobic bacteria infection in the oral cavity or digestive tract. You can take drugs to treat anaerobic bacteria under the guidance of a dentist.

4. Improve bad eating habits, smoke and drink less, avoid eating foods with pungent odors, such as garlic, leeks, onions, etc. You can chew more gum, mints, tea, etc.

How to relieve

Tips

Most people will have some dry mouth and bad breath after getting up in the morning. This is because of the lack of oral exercises at night, low saliva secretion, decomposition of food residues in the mouth, and bacterial growth, which produce the bad smell. The smell will disappear after brushing teeth and having breakfast.