We always think that bad breath is the patent of adults. In fact, children can also have bad breath. When the child’s mouth is no longer a good smell of milk or fresh breath, but a strange sour smell, as a mother, the subconscious reaction is that the child is angry or digested bad.
So what’s the reason?
Inadequate oral hygiene
The vast majority of bad breath comes from the mouth. Microorganisms in the oral cavity will use food residues, shed epithelial cells, blood, gingival crevicular fluid, plaque and other substances to produce a lot of odor, resulting in bad breath.
If the child does not clean the mouth well after eating, the milk and food residues will remain in the gaps between the teeth, periodontal parts, etc., and mix with the bacteria and saliva in the mouth for a long time. It will produce an odor.
To get rid of these odors, parents should help or ask their children to brush their teeth, clean their tongue, and floss.
Children under the age of 1 who are teething can use a baby toothbrush to clean their mouth. If there are no teeth, mothers can use gauze wrapped around the fingers to help the baby clean, or give the baby some warm water after feeding.
After your child has teeth, remember to let him brush his teeth every morning and before going to bed. At the same time, use fluoride toothpaste to help your child thoroughly clean his teeth and tongue coating. Remember: brush for 2 minutes each time.
The dosage of fluoride toothpaste is: rice grain size for 0-3 years old, soybean size for over 3 years old.
In addition to brushing teeth in the morning and evening, after each meal, give your baby a few mouthfuls of plain water or teach him to rinse his mouth to keep his mouth clean.
Child’s dry mouth
Saliva helps clean the mouth. When saliva is flowing, it can help us flush out food debris, microorganisms, and old oral mucosal cells in the mouth.
If it is not cleaned in time, an unpleasant odor will develop in the mouth.
Children can’t be idle for a moment. They sweat easily when they are very active, which leads to dry mouth. If they do not replenish water in time, it will lead to insufficient saliva secretion and dry mouth.
So when parents find that their child is sweating too much, they should help the child to replenish water in time and keep the child’s mouth moist.
Gastroesophageal reflux
This is more common in babies.
So what is gastroesophageal reflux? It refers to the food that the baby eats in the stomach and returns to the mouth through the esophagus. To put it bluntly, what was eaten overflowed again.
Because the food eaten has been mixed with stomach acid and some secretions, it will taste after reflux, causing the baby to have bad breath.
Mothers should pay attention to keeping the baby’s head high and feet low when breastfeeding, avoid exercising after breastfeeding, and remember to burp the younger baby after breastfeeding, which can also effectively prevent gastroesophageal reflux .
Oral problems such as cavities
If your child has oral problems such as tooth decay and gingivitis, it can also cause bad breath.
The small black holes on the cavities will leave food residues, which are not easy to find or remove. Over time, it will produce an unpleasant odor.
Our parents should always remind children to eat less sugar and pay more attention to oral hygiene. At the same time, don’t be afraid of trouble, it is best to take your child for an oral examination every six months, and find dental caries or other problems and treat them in time.
Related to respiratory problems
Such as chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, etc., there are basically traces of bacterial infection, which will also produce unpleasant odors.
However, if the above diseases occur, the child will generally have other external manifestations in addition to bad breath, such as increased nasal secretions, nasal speech, open mouth breathing, sleep snoring, etc. At this time, parents need to take the baby to see a doctor in time to find out the cause.
Of course, some rare diseases in children, such as advanced liver disease,Nephropathy, diabetic ketoacidosis, etc., may also cause bad breath. Parents should take their children to see a doctor as soon as possible after discovering the abnormality.
Final emphasis:
If you want to prevent bad breath in your child, the most important thing is to maintain your child’s oral hygiene: brush your teeth, clean your tongue, and floss.
In addition, pay attention to drinking more water and eating habits in daily life, such as eating less sweets and fried foods.
Also, don’t be afraid of trouble, remember to take your child to the dentist regularly, and treat any cavities immediately.
If you have done all the above and still have bad breath, you should go to the hospital for a checkup to see if it is caused by a certain disease or other conditions.