Have You Considered Professional Bad Breath Treatment Options?
Is your breath so bad that you would just like to have it surgically removed? In some cases, medical treatment is the only way to get rid of bad breath for good. Here are some situations that are treated best with medical care and the kinds of treatments you may be offered.
Bad Breath Caused by Tonsillitis
When elementary school children have really awful breath, the problem is usually tonsillitis. This all too common condition results from chronic inflammation of the tonsils, tissues at the back of the tongue and the roof of the mouth that release white blood cells to fight infection. Especially in children aged 6 to 10, the tonsils can become so swollen, relative to the size of the face, that breathing through the nose becomes impossible. Tissues in the mouth and throat dry out and die, providing substrate for bad breath as they decay.
Surgery usually provides and immediate and permanent cure for the bad breath caused by tonsillitis. The surgeon most often cuts out the tonsils with steel surgical instruments, or burns out the tonsils, cauterizing blood vessels as the operation proceeds in order to prevent bleeding. The “burn it out” method usually causes significantly less pain and bleeding. Even after tonsils are removed, however, the infection may remain.
Bad Breath Caused by Sinusitis
The sinuses are cavities in the skull filled with air. The four paranasal sinuses capture about 15 ml (1/2 of a fluid ounce) of air at a time, warming it and moisturizing it as it passes down to the throat and to the lungs. The sinuses have very tiny openings which give the stream air greater velocity as it goes into the throat.
Sinusitis is a condition of inflammation in the lining of the sinuses that can cause pain and stuffiness. The sinuses respond to infection and irritation by releasing mucus that can trap noxious materials and germs. Tiny hairs known as cilia propel mucus out of the sinus through its small opening into the nostrils and throat, but some toxic agents paralyze them. They also can be trapped in harden mucus if the sinuses are exposed to dry air for extended periods of time. The trapped mucus can decay and cause an awful stink, and dry air can desiccate the throat and lead to tissue decay there.
In the twentieth century, surgeons sometimes cut through the skin and muscle, drilling into bone, releasing mucus and accumulated bacteria. The procedure had a high risk of spreading infection and was abandoned in the first years of the twenty-first century in favor of up-the-nose endoscopic surgery to place tiny stents containing steroid drugs to help the sinuses slowly shrink over a period of 3 to 6 weeks.
Because the drugs put in the stents take several weeks to work, there is no immediate improvement in bad breath. Moreover, infection can return as soon as the medications wear off—and the second round of sinusitis can be even more severe.
Going to the Bad Breath Clinic
So far, medical options for treating bad breath don’t sound all that promising. There is an innovative clinic in San Francisco, California, however that specializes in medical solutions for bad breath. The Center for Breath Treatment was founded in 1996 by otolaryngologist Dr. Anthony Dailley. Since its founding the Center has been studying scientific methods of diagnosing and the most treating severe bad breath. As of late 2011, when this article was written, Dr. Dailley’s treatment the Center for Breath Treatment has treated more than 13,000 cases of halitosis and claims an astonishing 99% success rate.
The secret of success, Dr. Dailley says, is finding the causes of halitosis before beginning treatment. And the most common methods of treating bad breath, Dailley tells his patients, such as mints, mouthwash, chewing gum, mouth sprays, and, at least in California, colon cleansings do little or nothing to get rid of bad breath permanently.
At the Center for Breath Treatment, almost none of the worst cases of chronic halitosis are found to have a medical cause. The doctors almost always discover a combination of uniquely potent strains of bad breath bacteria and unusual features of patient anatomy that make changes in personal hygiene a must.
Each patient at the Center for Breath Treatment is given a unique prescription for fresher breath, but certain products are recommended over and over again, such as the:
- Hydrofloss Oral Irrigator,
- Dioxirinse mouthwash,
- Dioxibrite toothpaste, and the
- Hydropulse Sinus Irrigator.
When bad breath is especially hard to manage, these products, the clinic claims, often make the critical difference in successful treatment.
If you don’t have health insurance, and sometimes even if you do, medical treatment for halitosis in the United States can be extremely expensive, well into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. These four products, however, are worth a second look if you are seeking ways to treat halitosis on your own.
Doctors at the Center also look for those relatively rare cases in which halitosis is caused nasal polyps, autoimmune conditions that can cause dry mouth, deviated septum, misalignments of the teeth, problems with the jaw bone, allergies, and sleep apnea. Treating these problems sometimes resolves bad breath, along with giving overall health an enormous boost. If you think you might have one of these conditions, treatment really is not optional. You simply must have a doctor take care of these conditions for your health and longevity. When you, however, bad breath may quickly become a thing of your past.
