For a little background, I’ve had BB since around aged 11/12 I believe. A friend told me my breath stunk and since then I’ve been obsessed with it. I would chew gum, eat sugary mints (I know bad) all through school. My oral hygiene was pretty bad and my diet consisted of mostly sugar. I had a few cavities between the ages of 11 and 16 which was probably due to the obsessive mint eating!
I had an impacted wisdom tooth removed around age 16 I believe - although this done nothing to reduce my BB. I also had a tonsillectomy which again didn’t help
I’m not entirely sure how bad my BB really is. I know it’s there, I have a foul taste in my mouth all the time and can almost feel how hot and stinky my breath is. The issue is I have no idea what it smells like either as I cannot smell it myself. I get reactions from people daily and I’ve noticed people seem to get a blocked nose around me. I also have no idea if it comes from both my mouth and nose or just my mouth
Incredibly, I did manage to have a bf for 5ish years. He never once complained about my BB and would always kiss me. The only time I remember him complaining was once or twice of a morning but I guess morning breath is pretty normal. I used to think, if he’d comment on my breath in the morning surely he would have commented on my ‘normal’ BB? Who knows! I have also managed to be in a new relationship for a month or so. He always wants to kiss me although has made a few jokey comments about my breath smelling
In terms of what symptoms/things I have going on, I’ll try to list them:
One impacted wisdom tooth - doesn’t seem to smell as I rinse it with a syringe daily.
2 fully emerged wisdom teeth at the top - have come in at a weird angle and are hard to clean although don’t seem to smell.
5 old amalgam fillings - two of which are leaking/cracked. I can see some tooth decay under the cracked filling which is a black/browny colour. The tooth is also mostly black along with a few other teeth. Although, doesn’t seem to smell when I floss or touch the tooth.
Some tongue coating - nothing major and I scrape twice a day which seems to remove it mostly
Not sure on the PND - I definitely notice mucus sometimes but doesn’t seem too bad.
A septal perforation from nasal surgery as a child - my nose whistled if I breath out hard from one nostril
No obvious symptoms of GERD or acid reflux
No obvious digestive issues - seem to be tolerant of most foods and when I eat right (fibre etc) I do have regular bowel movements
No IBS etc
No family history of BB - I mean no one. My mum has severe tooth decay and gum disease and genuinely does not ever brush her teeth and she never has BB.
I’m at a bit of a loss as to what could be causing it. And the fact that I have no idea how bad it is or where it comes from makes it so much harder! I will be undergoing dental treatment soon to replace my old fillings and remove the impacted wisdom tooth. I’m not holding out much hope for this though.
Things I’ve tried:
Wisdom tooth removal (only one, still have an impacted)
Tonsillectomy
Every mouthwash
Probiotics (although I’m only on week 2)
Oral probiotics (about 2 weeks in - not noticed a difference)
Anti acids don’t seem to do anything
Nasal rinse with saline doesn’t give me any BB reduction
I’ve decided enough is enough. I’m such a sociable person and I am sick of this demon controlling my life. Somehow I manage to still go out with friends and have boyfriends despite this issue, although I know how amazing my life could be without this going on! I will give myself a year to knuckle down and find a cure. Too many times I give up and push it to the back of my mind and pretend it’s not there. I’ve wasted so many years (I’m now 24) that could have been spent living my life to the fullest. I’ve decided on a year to allow each thing I try time to see if it’s working or not, and it takes some pressure off me to find a cure immediately.
My plan so far:
Trying the anti Candida diet - if anyone has any tips on how long to do this for this would be amazing! I don’t have obvious symptoms of an overgrowth but who knows!
Get my oral hygiene 100% - it’s pretty amazing now but I still need to get those fillings sorted. If nothing else it’s got to help in some way or another.
Look into getting my septal perforation repaired with a visit to an ENT
I will then explore potential digestive issues
I am praying for a miracle here. I am holding on to hope that I really haven’t even started to scratch the surface on what my cure may be which leaves me so many avenues to explore. I think I’ve been nervous to start this journey for fear of nothing curing me. But if I don’t try I’ll never know
Thank you all for reading my post! Any advice or support would be massively appreciated. Wishing fresh breath and love to you all!!!
