The American Association for Dental Research has concluded that there is an organism that is mainly responsible for chronic bad breath: solobacterium moorei. The study that was completed found that many people with the problem of chronic bad breath had it due to this organism.
Bad breath that is persistent in a person is usually caused by
Bacteria that are breaking down food in the mouth. The breakdown will produce sulfur compounds that stay on the surface of the tongue, causing the foul smell. The tongue bacteria present is responsible for up ninety percent of the cases of bad breath Some of the bad breath can even originate from the lungs or sinuses. This is an embarrassing problem for many people.
The study involved twenty-one people with chronic bad breath and thirty-six people without this problem. The researchers found that S. moorei, the bacteria thought to cause most of this problem, was present in every test subject that had chronic bad breath. There were only four test subjects that did not have this chronic problem that had the particular bacteria present in their mouths. Out of those four, all have gum disease that could be the beginning to a problem with chronic bad breath.
In previous studies, it was found that every patient with bad breath had the bacteria, and those without the chronic problem did not. Halitosis can now be linked to this bacteria, but there is still not much known about the particular organism and further testing will have to be done in order to find out how the bad breath is caused by the organism. This can lead to possible treatments for chronic bad breath and reduce the number of people that have to suffer from it. The best way to prevent chronic bad breath is to brush twice daily with antibacterial toothpaste and using a tongue scraper.
