Bad Breath and Wisdom Teeth – Is There a Connection?

Wisdom teeth are thus called because they are normally the last ones to appear and at a relatively late age.

In some instances, wisdom teeth or third molars don’t fully come out of the gums. In such cases, they are called impacted wisdom teeth. These impacted teeth may cause infection due to bacterial growth and even bad breath. This can be addressed by taking antibiotics and cleaning and treating the surrounding gums.

You might need to have your wisdom teeth extracted. This way, you can prevent problems in the future. Remember that if they are not removed, wisdom teeth can cause decay, bone and gum infection, and bone loss.

Why are wisdom teeth full of bacteria?

Misaligned or impacted wisdom teeth are a little difficult to clean and they’re the perfect host to food particles and bacteria. Since bacteria thrive in warm and damp environment, impacted wisdom tooth can cause infections, cysts, and decay. As you can expect, all these can result to bad breath and an even off taste in the mouth.

If your wisdom tooth is submerged and causing bacterial profusion, the tiny air pocket between the tip of the tooth and the gum can be where bad breath is coming from. The sensitive gums surrounding the impacted wisdom tooth get infected easily and the bacteria in the wound can release sulphur compounds with foul odour.

Will the Wisdom Tooth Infection Get Better on Its Own?

You can’t expect an infection to get better without proper treatment.  Some signs of wisdom tooth or gum infection include an awful taste in the mouth, pain, tenderness or swelling, inflammation, bleeding, and bad breath that doesn’t go away. Visit Pickering Square Dental to find out if your wisdom tooth infection needs immediate attention.

Extraction is Necessary

Because impacted teeth are a potential cause of various problems, they have to be extracted. Extractions may be done one tooth per visit or multiple teeth can be extracted simultaneously.

Bad Breath May Be Caused by the Extraction

Wisdom tooth removal does not instantly stop bad breath. When your wisdom tooth is extracted, a blood clot is formed in the empty socket and when removed, it leads to a “dry socket”. Bacteria can get in there, lead to an infection, and bad breath.

Antibiotics and medicated creams may be prescribed by the dentist to clean the socket and aid in the healing process. Expect for the dry socket to take a few weeks to fully heal. Bad breath may seem persistent for some time after your wisdom tooth extraction, but with proper oral care, it should be gone soon. However, if you notice that it persists too long, you should take a trip to the dentist so it can be checked.

Whether it is caused by a wisdom tooth or not, bad breath is never a good sign. Schedule an appointment with us at Pickering Square Dental so we can assess the situation and help you bring your fresh breath back.

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Are My Wisdom Teeth Causing Bad Breath

If you’re a young adult who suffers from halitosis, you may be wondering, “Are my wisdom teeth causing bad breath?” The answer, as with many dental questions, is, “it’s possible.” There are a few ways in which wisdom teeth can cause bad breath:

• As they erupt, upper wisdom teeth can irritate your sinuses, causing blockages, sinus infections, and bad breath due to sinus drainage in your throat.
• If the erupting or impacted wisdom teeth have irritated your sinuses, they may be affecting your breathing at night. This can lead to breathing through your mouth instead of your nose while you sleep, which dries out your mouth and can cause extra bacterial activity that leads to bad breath.
• If your wisdom teeth are impacted and cannot come in cleanly, they can trap food and bacteria, irritate your gums, and injure other teeth. All of these things can contribute to the type of bacterial infection that can cause bad breath.
• If you’ve recently had your wisdom teeth removed, the healing process can sometimes cause bad breath. However, this sort of smell and taste should be resolved by rinsing with salt water. If a salt water rinse doesn’t resolve the bad breath from your wisdom teeth, you may have an infection.

You may have noticed that a common thread in all of these causes is that bacterial infection is causing bad breath. How to resolve the bad breath from your wisdom teeth depends on where the infection is and how long you’ve had it.

Are My Wisdom Teeth Causing Bad Breath?

So, how do you get rid of bad breath from wisdom teeth? If you suspect your bad breath is related to your wisdom teeth, the first step is to talk to your dentist. A set of X-rays can determine if your wisdom teeth are erupting if they’re impacted, and how they’re involved with your sinuses.

Sinus-Related Breath Problems

If the problem is mainly sinus-related, your dentist will probably have you call your PCP. Antibiotics and oral steroids are often used to treat sinus infections, and your doctor may also recommend a nasal steroid or saline nose wash to help keep your sinuses clear as your wisdom teeth erupt.

Mouth Breathing

If mouth-breathing is contributing to your bad breath from wisdom teeth, you may need to use a mouth rinse to reduce the impact of dry mouth on bacterial growth. The same bacteria that cause bad breath can also cause tooth decay, and when you have insufficient saliva, the acid these bacteria produce eats away at your teeth. CariFree has a wide range of products that you can use at home to balance the pH of your mouth, eliminate decay-causing bacteria, and encourage the remineralization of your teeth.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth

If your wisdom teeth are impacted, most dentists will recommend surgery to remove them. Impacted teeth are coming in at an angle that will damage your jawbone or other teeth. They will not come in cleanly. Bad breath is one sign that the impacted teeth are causing problems. It’s good to have the teeth removed before the situation becomes an emergency. Well-planned wisdom tooth surgery results in fewer complications. According to the Mayo Clinic, most wisdom tooth surgery is straightforward and does not require a follow-up visit.

One exception to this rule is if you experience bad breath after surgery that doesn’t resolve when you clean your wound with a saline rinse. Bad breath is a sign that unhealthy bacteria is growing in your mouth. After oral surgery, it can be a sign of infection, especially if it is combined with pain and swelling at the surgical site. If the gums where your wisdom teeth have become infected, you may need to take antibiotics to resolve the infection. In rare cases, you may need a follow-up appointment with the oral surgeon to examine the wound or to do an additional procedure. So, if you find yourself wondering, “how long does your breath smell after wisdom tooth removal,” check with your surgeon.

Other Causes of Bad Breath

While wisdom teeth can cause bad breath, they’re not the most common cause. Even if you’re in your late teens or early 20s, more common causes of bad breath include allergies, sinus colds, bad sleep breathing, dietary choices, and the normal, everyday bacteria that colonize your mouth. If you’re concerned about bad breath, make sure to mention it to your dentist. There are tests and screening tools available to help you discover the underlying cause and get treatment so that you can be confident in your smile.

Wisdom tooth grows, bad breath – Moscow

Wisdom tooth grows, bad breath – Moscow

ValentineApril 19, 2013

Elena Mikhailovna, I trust you! Two lower wisdom teeth began to erupt, and suddenly I began to notice that at work they looked at me somehow strangely and turned away their faces. At first I didn’t go there, but then during a break, a friend, (looking the other way and saying ten times that I shouldn’t be offended), said that my wisdom tooth stinks! And I just got a job, just a friend and helped. In the evening at home, what I just didn’t do, but the smell does not disappear! And go back to work tomorrow. Please tell me how to get rid of this terrible stench!!!

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Hello, Valentina. I sincerely sympathize with your problem, but, unfortunately, I cannot recommend anything that will deprive your wisdom tooth, the smell of which spoils your life so much, of its special aroma until tomorrow.

In fact, wisdom teeth can cause a lot of problems while growing, and bad breath is not the biggest of them. I have said more than once and I will repeat again that the best solution to the problem with the figure eight, when it hurts, when the lymph nodes become inflamed, when it presses on neighboring teeth, causing them to curve, or when an unpleasant odor appears, as in your case, is removal, immediately after eruption. But, unfortunately, not everyone can afford such an operation. And only very good specialists should remove these teeth. Otherwise, you can get a lot of complications.

Although, of course, the wisdom tooth itself does not cause bad breath. Most likely, you have formed a pocket between the seventh and eighth tooth. But it was formed, just due to the fact that the tooth erupts incorrectly. The only thing that can be done now is to rinse your mouth with a decoction of chamomile and sage, this will slightly reduce inflammation. And tomorrow be sure to see a specialist. And do not use any chewing gum and tik-taki – in this case, they will only increase the unpleasant smell.

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main symptoms and principles of treatment

Pericoronitis is an inflammation of the soft tissues surrounding the crown of a partially erupted tooth. It affects the gum, tissues around the tooth and can spread to the immediate environment. The most typical site of pericoronitis is the wisdom teeth, the third molars. They not only cut through later than all (and sometimes do not appear above the surface at all), but also have a special structure. A long stay in a “sleeping” form, the influence of neighboring teeth change the position of the third molar, and it begins to erupt sideways, at an angle, further damaging the gum from the inside, which provokes pericoronitis of the wisdom tooth.

Causes and factors contributing to the occurrence of pericoronitis

Inflammation of the mucous membrane and gums above the wisdom tooth, as well as associated with the formation of the so-called hood – mucosal folds – is the main cause of the disease. Inside this hood, pieces of food accumulate, which are a good substrate for the growth of pathogenic bacteria. The combination of inflammation due to teething (often long, difficult, with mucosal injuries) and a hood with altered microflora leads to the fact that a focus of infection is formed in this place.

Other common causes of pericoronitis

• Gingivitis and periodontitis as background processes for the formation of inflammation, the formation of a periodontal pocket, in which bacteria also accumulate. After that, the process moves to the surrounding tissues.

• Local injuries. A typical phenomenon: an incorrectly sealed or partially broken tooth digs into the gum opposite or nearby, constantly injuring it. This is what leads to inflammation. Sometimes pericoronitis occurs in people wearing orthodontic appliances, which can injure the mucous membrane.

• Polyodontia, or extra teeth.

Symptoms of the disease

Symptoms of pericoronitis depend on the intensity and severity of the inflammatory process, the physical health of the patient. Symptoms of the disease can also be constant or periodically subside, replaced by other complaints.

Possible general symptoms:

• Pain. It can intensify when you press on the focus of inflammation, or it can be constant, pronounced or low-intensity. Sometimes it gives to the ear, throat, nose, jaw.

• Redness or redness with a patch of whitish skin.

• Edema around the area of ​​pericoronitis.

• Bad smell worse after a night’s sleep.

• Change in taste of food, taste of blood or pus.

• Formation of a purulent sac on the gum.

• Difficulty opening the mouth, talking, chewing.

• Increased body temperature.

• General malaise.

• Difficulties with sleep.

• Cheek enlargement due to swelling of the jaw.

The course of the disease in different types of pericoronitis

Pericoronitis is divided into acute and chronic. Acute begins, as a rule, suddenly, is accompanied by inflammation of varying degrees of intensity, which affects the dental hood, passes to the surrounding tissues and, with severe inflammation, can cause complications in the body. This type of pericoronitis can proceed according to the type of catarrhal and purulent.

In the case of the catarrhal type, the disease proceeds at normal body temperature and general satisfactory condition. Patients complain of pain when chewing or biting in the area of ​​an erupting molar (or other cause of pericoronitis). With a long-term process, an increase and soreness of the lymph nodes under the lower jaw is possible.

If you look at the affected tooth, you can see that the hood or the edge of the gums is reddened, there is swelling, in which sometimes an erupting tooth appears. Touching the focus of inflammation is very painful, and when you press it, serous fluid can be released. This form responds well to treatment. If the catarrhal form is not treated, then the inflammation can turn into a purulent form of acute pericoronitis.

In the purulent form of acute pericoronitis, the condition and well-being quickly deteriorate, the temperature rises to 38 ° C, the general condition, sleep, and appetite suffer. The pain becomes constant, pronounced. She gives in the ear, in the back of the head, in the temple. Due to significant swelling, it becomes painful to swallow, open your mouth, and talk. The submandibular lymph nodes are enlarged, sometimes so much that it becomes difficult to turn or tilt your head.

When you try to examine the focus of inflammation, you can see that not only the hood of the wisdom tooth is edematous, but also the gum around the tooth. Edema can also cover the inner surface of the cheek, the palate, can spread up to the entrance to the oropharynx. If you touch this hood, then the patient will have a sharp pain, and pus will be released from the focus, sometimes foul-smelling. Purulent pericoronitis responds well to treatment, however, it is possible that in an advanced case or with improperly selected treatment, the purulent process spreads to the jaw with the formation of phlegmon ^[1] .

Chronic pericoronitis occurs when the acute has not been noticed, the inflammation itself or with the help of drugs has passed or subsided. But since the cause itself has not been eliminated, it periodically worsens and gives symptoms.

Most often, the process proceeds at normal body temperature, a satisfactory general condition. At the same time, aching, constant, rather pronounced pain is noted, which can interfere with chewing and talking. Enlarged, mobile, painful submandibular lymph nodes can interfere with head movements. Pain can radiate to the ear, temple, jaw, throat. An unpleasant odor appears from the mouth, touching the area of ​​\u200b\u200binflammation with the tongue or accidentally pressing it hurts. If you look at the area of ​​​​inflammation, you can see that the gum above the hood begins to lag behind the tooth. Chronic pericoronitis requires treatment. Otherwise, complications may develop up to the formation of ulcers and phlegmon

Treatment of pericoronitis

The treatment of pericoronitis has several objectives:

1. Elimination of pain.

2. Combating the pathological process, preventing its further spread and preventing complications.

Both acute and chronic pericoronitis are usually treated on an outpatient basis ^[1] . Elimination of pain is carried out simultaneously with the fight against acute inflammation. In case of catarrhal form, the doctor cleans and treats the gums and the hood with an antiseptic and applies a special bandage, which simultaneously heals due to medicinal impregnation and lifts the hood ^[1] . Thus, conditions are created for the process to subside and, if necessary, the eruption of the third molar.

Purulent pericoronitis may require surgical treatment, which is also performed in a dental clinic. The hood is excised, the wound is treated with special medical dressings and the resulting pocket is raised so that it does not interfere with the tooth again and does not provoke inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory drugs, antihistamines, and antibiotics may be prescribed. After the pain has subsided and the inflammation has been removed, the dentist evaluates the possibility of saving the tooth or the need to remove it. For this, a complex of studies is carried out, including examination, laboratory tests, x-rays. According to the results of this examination, the tooth is either removed or given the opportunity and “space” for eruption.

After the removal of a wisdom tooth, it will be necessary to come the next day for an examination. This will allow you to assess the condition of the hole, the mucosa. If the tooth is saved, then once every 6 months it will need to be shown to the doctor.

Clinical guidelines (treatment protocols) for the diagnosis of pericoronitis ^[1]

Advice to Patients

If an incision or excision of the hood has been performed in the treatment of pericoronitis, several preparatory and postoperative measures will need to be taken to speed up healing and reduce the risk of complications.

• Do not take food, hot or alcoholic drinks for two to three hours after the intervention.

• On the day of surgery, do not visit the bath, sauna, do not take a hot bath, do not be in the sun or in a hot room.

• On the eve and on the day of treatment, limit physical activity.

• On these days and the next three days, it is recommended to follow a diet, exclude alcohol, spicy, very hot dishes.

• Do not eat foods with a strong smell before the intervention.

• Smokers should stop smoking on the eve of the hood excision, on the day of surgery and two days after.

• For sanitation (cleansing and disinfection), you can use a mouth rinse with antiseptic solutions.

• After the intervention, the doctor will prescribe drugs to speed up healing.

• Do not apply warm compresses, ointments with bee, snake, etc. venom.

• If, after excision of the hood or setting of therapeutic turundas, there is pain, severe swelling, increased discomfort, pain in the submandibular lymph nodes, you need to consult a doctor to identify the cause and take action.

List of sources:

1. Clinical guidelines (treatment protocols) for the diagnosis of pericoronitis.