Systemic Diseases Causing Bad Breath
When you visit the dentist, he will pay attention to any unusual breath. Sometimes it smells like bad home care, but it can signal that the patient has a systemic disease. The dentist should pick up on this and refer you to your medical doctor.
According to an article on “halitosis” in Wikipedia,
“There are a few systemic (non-oral) medical conditions that may cause foul breath odor, but these are extremely infrequent in the general population. Such conditions are:
- Fetor hepaticus: an example of a rare type of bad breath caused by chronic liver failure.
- Lower respiratory tract infections(bronchial and lung infections).
- Renal infections and renal failure.
- Carcinoma.
- Trimethylaminuria(“fish odor syndrome”).
- Diabetes mellitus.
- Metabolic conditions, e.g. resulting in elevated blood dimethyl sulfide.[6]
Individuals afflicted by the above conditions often show additional, more diagnostically conclusive symptoms than bad breath alone.”
Studies done in Canada by Yaegaki and Coil appear in an article “Halitosis: A mirror of systemic and oral health.” Check out the article for the table of systemic diseases and the nature of the halitosis.
DISEASES CHARACTERlSTIC ODOR
Diabetes mellitus or
impending Diabetic coma:
Acetone, fruity (not detected in well controlled patients)
Liver failure (terminal stage):
Sweetish musty, feculent “amine” odour resembling a fresh cadaver
known as “fetor hepaticus”
Portocaval venous:
Anastomoses:
Same as fetor hepatic us but characteristically intermittent in nature
for long period of time
Lung abscess, tuberculosis,
Bronchiectasis:
Foul, putrefactive
Blood dyscrasias : Resembling decomposed blood of a healing surgical extraction wound
Liver cirrhosis: Resembling decayed blood
Uremia, kidney failure: Ammonia or urine
Toxemia, G.I. disorder, neuro
Psychiatric:
Varies: poor oral hygiene intensifies the odour.
Fever, dehydration,
Macroglobulinemia (with
salivary gland involvement).:
Odor mainly due to Xerostomia with poor oral hygiene and / or toxic
waste byproducts accumulated in the body.
Syphilis, exanthematous
disease, granuloma venereum:
Fetid
Wegcners granulomatosis: Necrotic, putrefactive
See Your Dentist
So the mouth does provide additional clues that could lead the diagnosing in the correct path to diagnosing and subsequently treating the patient’s condition – another reason to keep your dental appointments.