Why Your Breath May Start to Smell as You Get Older
Have you noticed that your breath is starting to smell a bit as you get older? This is a very common complaint. There are various reasons this occurs. The number one reason is that our mouths get dryer with less saliva production as we age. Saliva buffers the acids in your mouth and helps wash away bacterial plaque. Decreased saliva production allows food particles, debris and bacteria to linger around the teeth and gums producing a noticeable odor. In addition, multiple medications more commonly taken as we age also have the side effect of drying our mouths.
Are we to accept this as an unavoidable part of the aging process? Not necessarily because better oral hygiene can help overcome this. Brushing at least two minutes twice per day and flossing once per day will go a long way towards removing these odor causing elements. Another factor is that some conditions in the elderly such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s can cause manual coordination problems therefore compromising home care. Depression also can cause laziness in your self care routines.
More frequent professional cleanings are the answer to a lot of this. I strongly recommend cleanings every three months for my older patients to not only keep your breath fresh but prevent periodontal disease and bone loss around your teeth which also creates a foul stench in your mouth. Most OTC mouthwashes have alcohol or acid preservatives and simply cover up the smell short term so I don’t recommend those as a solution. Chewing sugarless gum or sugarless sucking candies (find xylitol products for that and look up my xylitol blog: https://www.michaelkrochak.com/home/2019/3/22/xylitol-the-magic-sugar-substitute ) also helps stimulate saliva production. There are also lines of products formulated to help with dry mouth, Biotene is the most popular brand.
For more information, you can contact Dr. Michael Krochak at
drk@nycsmilespa.com
NYC Smile Spa
30 E. 60th St., Rm 1201
New York, NY 10022
(212) 838-2900
Relax and smile!
