03. What are the causes of halitosis (bad breath)?

A report published by the Breath Institute in 2010 indicates that most patients (60%) who sought treatment at our affiliated clinical centres suffer from halitosis of oral origin. Nevertheless, the numbers of cases of this type of halitosis have gone down in recent years, meaning that more and more patients seek us out for a non-oral diagnosis. Some possible explanations could be society’s increasing awareness of the importance of good oral hygiene habits (we are rarely visited by a patient with poor oral hygiene) and ease of access to diagnostic centres.

“Most patients (60%) who sought treatment at our affiliated clinical centres suffer from halitosis of oral origin”.

Extra-oral causes (originating in the respiratory tract, digestive tract or systemic) are behind 17% of cases diagnosed by the Breath Institute and the trend is growing. These causes are more difficult to diagnose, and generally require more advanced technology, which is why they are easier to detect in a specialist halitosis clinic. For the other 23% of patients who come to us, halitosis is not diagnosed as they do not suffer from genuine halitosis (but mistakenly believe they do).

Although certain conditions, such as decreased salivary secretion, digestive problems, stress or anxiety can, in some cases, cause genuine halitosis, in other cases they can create tastes in the mouth that patients perceive as odours, leading patients believe that they suffer from halitosis. However, this is not pseudohalitosis as it has an organic cause and can be treated. You can find an exhaustive list of all the diseases that can cause halitosis under the “What is halitosis?” section of our website.