Dr Arosha Weerakoon from UQ’s School of Dentistry spoke with ABC Radio Perth about bad breath.
Dr Weerakoon says that simply put, bacteria and the gasses they produce are to blame for odorous breath.
“We all are aware of the healthy micro-biome and that we have this wonderful eco-system in our body that works together,” Dr Weerakoon says.
“But often it’s when certain types of bacteria are allowed to grow over others, and that type of bacteria will produce these rather volatile sulphurous odours.
“Brushing and flossing will reduce it by about 30 per cent and adding tongue cleaning significantly helps.
“One of the interesting things about dental, and this is why we clean mechanically, is that the plaque bacteria has this incredible protective system.
"It’s almost like a force field that repels mouthwashes to a certain extent, so mechanical cleaning always beats any other option.”
