Halitosis Treatment (SRP)
Halitosis Treatment in SoHo
When you’re dealing with such a personal problem, you don’t want to trust just anyone. It can be embarrassing, even vulnerable to reveal your struggles with bad breath to a group of professionals. We hope that by catering to your emotional and mental well-being through our welcoming office environment, you can feel comfortable with us as we construct your treatment plan. Our office is dedicated to crafting an environment that makes it easy to take back control of your dental health. We want you to experience the life-changing difference that a healthy smile can make.
The Problem With Bad Breath
Halitosis–bad breath–can cripple your social life and self-confidence. In the process of shielding them from your bad breath, you may be putting distance between yourself and your loved ones. Perhaps you’ve spent a pretty penny on fragrant gum and breath mints, but there’s only so much you can do to stave it off. It can be frustrating to fight a losing battle with your breath. Our dentist can join your side and tip the scales in your favor.
Our dentist can assess the cause of your bad breath and develop a treatment that works for you. We want to help you get back your quality of life by restoring the health of your teeth and gums.
Common Causes of Bad Breath
Sometimes, bad breath can be caused by underlying health conditions that are best diagnosed by your primary care physician. If your bad breath doesn’t seem to be due to teeth and gum health, speak with your doctor about secondary treatment options.
If your halitosis isn’t due to a health problem, it may be the result of your habits. For example, here are some common causes of bad breath:
- Smoking
- Eating sulfurous foods (such as onion and garlic)
- Breathing through your mouth
- Dehydration
- Poor brushing and flossing
Dry Mouth Is Common With Halitosis
Many who suffer from bad breath also deal with dry mouth. Dry mouth can be caused by a number of things, including smoking, but it can come from other habits that may be relatively easy to fix. For example, if you breathe through your mouth instead of your nose, your saliva dries out before it has a chance to clear your mouth of food and bacteria.
If you breathe through your mouth at night due to sleep apnea, you may be a good candidate for dental night guards. Our general dentist can custom-make your night guard to help alleviate the effects of obstructive sleep apnea, including dry mouth and halitosis.
What is Scaling and Root Planing (SRP)?
Scaling and root planing (SRP) is a dental deep cleaning most often reserved for people who are experiencing periodontal disease. Routine dental cleanings get rid of plaque at and below the gum line–SRP targets plaque at the roots. By scaling back the tartar on the teeth and treating infected gums, your dentist can help your gums adhere back to your teeth and close periodontal pockets.
Once the infection is treated and your teeth are clean of old and new bacteria, your breath should be substantially improved.
How Gum Disease Causes Halitosis
One of the most important habits you can employ to fight bad breath includes proper oral hygiene. The bacteria in our mouths are responsible for the smelly compounds that cause bad breath, as they break down the food we eat. If you don’t brush them away, they build and build and begin to affect the health of your teeth and gums.
The enzymes produced by bacteria are toxic to our teeth and gums. They soften the enamel and break into the dentin, causing cavities. As plaque (a film of sticky bacteria) turns into tartar (a shield of dead bacteria), the bacteria can live closer to the gum line, causing inflammation. Inflamed gums pull away from the teeth, creating periodontal pockets.
Periodontal pockets become little safe havens for even more bacteria and decaying food particles to collect. With all of these bacteria, pieces of food, and diseased tissue in the mouth–halitosis is pretty much inevitable. That’s why one of our greatest tools against halitosis is a deep cleaning that can help to reverse gum disease.
Check out our other about general dentistry services
We Can Perform Halitosis Treatment at Our SoHo Dental Office
You don’t have to live with bad breath. During your dental exam, we can determine the root cause of your halitosis and create a treatment that will alleviate your symptoms. At Greene Street Dental, we know how hard it can be to keep people at a distance. We want to improve your life with comprehensive dental treatment.
To schedule an appointment, you can book online or call (212) 226-5777 today.