Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

A few months ago I came across the following study which examined the oral Microbiota of several patients, some who suffer from chronic periodontitis. They found distinct differences in the bacteria found in those with periodontitis which led them to believe that a complete transplant of the oral Microbiota of a healthy patient could cure the disease.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26468081/

I believe this study is particularly pertinent to those of us who have exhausted all other routes such as tonsillectomy, teeth extraction etc. I have wondered for a while whether rather than having a disease or infection, 23 actually just have a different genetic makeup which means we harbour more of the smelly bacteria and less good bacteria. This would explain why some individuals have rotting teeth and bad oral hygiene but never have bad breath.

Obviously this is all theoretical at the moment, but a number of conditions and diseases have shown improvement from fecal Microbiota transplants so, providing an oral microbiome can be transplanted effectively there is no reason it shouldn't work.

I contacted the scientists that wrote this paper and their response was quite disappointing. They told me that they had applied for a grant to carry out further experiments and testing but that it had not been approved.

The email they sent me is below:

"I am very sorry to hear that you are suffering from halitosis. We have written an NIH grant proposal to test the oral microbiome transplant idea and initially got funded. Due to a confusion with the principal investigator, NIH and the University of Washington did not agree with each other, and the money were not transferred. Re-submission of the proposal resulted in nothing. It was a huge blow to our research; we felt extremely frustrated. (I copied this e-mail conversation to my colleagues).

At this point we are re-grouping and hoping to acquire funding to continue with our research.

I wish I had better news...

Sincerely,
Alex."

I know many of you have lost hope, I have almost given up myself after having to quit my job and struggling to ever leave the house even with chewing gum. Sometimes I almost pass out from holding my breath just so that others around me aren't utterly disgusted by what they consider to be a dirty person.

However, I REFUSE to watch my life slip away from me. Even if I can find no cure, I will not look back in 20 years time and wish I had done more. Nobody cares about us other than ourselves, and it is up to us to fight to find a cure to this debilitating condition.

I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on the attached study, and whether we can find a way to help these scientists to proceed. I know many of us do not have very much money, but I have often wondered about writing to wealthy people and businesses to ask for help. Rich people get BB too, right?

I look forward to a positive discussion with all of you guys.

ive tried using chlorhexidine mouthwashes and subsequently taking large doses of probiotics to change my oral microbiota but I have not seen improvements. I'd say my halitosis has gotten worse even. What's surprising is that my mouth feels fresher, but the smell worse.

Hi smallman,

I'm sorry that probiotics haven't worked for you. I didn't have any luck with them either, but I believe the oral probiotics available are a con.

They don't permenantly populate your mouth, obviously because to make money the company need you to keep taking them. A probiotic is also no substitute for changing a whole microbiome.

Imagine taking someone who's never experienced bad breath. You know, those lucky sods who can go days without brushing and still not have any smell! If you could literally Transplant their oral microbiome, which is every type of bacteria in their mouth both, then why wouldn't you become one of those lucky people who never have bad breath either?

I'm surprised more people haven't joined this thread, I think one of the problems with this site is that lots of users just lurk in the background (like I once did) because they feel like joining discussions means they really do have bad breath and they almost hope it might be their paranoia.

We need to be more organised and work together. On our own we're just one person who stinks and doctors will continue to fob us off. We deserve better than this, and the only power we have is strength in numbers.

Guys? I thought we could actually have a positive discussion and work together to try and find sponsorship from a philanthropist or medical funding organisation. Guess I'm on my own on this one..

Lifelongsufferer wrote:Guys? I thought we could actually have a positive discussion and work together to try and find sponsorship from a philanthropist or medical funding organisation. Guess I'm on my own on this one..

Well unfortuntely like you said many lurk in the background but aren't ready to put themselves up, perhaps some genuinely do halitophobia in which case avoid forums like this is probably to their benefit, and others may only have temporary probelms and disappear.

The research sounds extremely interesting, what I wonder is if the root cause is lacking the right bacterial balance in the mouth for alot of people, but some have procedures and by taking anti biotics they permanantly re-address the balance and remove the smelly parts which hosst said bacteria too. So it appears that the tonsils or the adenoids were the route cause when they weren't.

I guess the ultimate question is how many people will it likely help and how much would they need? The procedure doesn't seem to complicated, in some ways in reminds me of fecal transplants, which is pretty gross to imagine, but seems like a straightfoward process.

what if u just ask someone with good breath to spit in your mouth?

that is silly, my ex girlfriend did that, because she had like the freshest breath ever.....
did not help at all

Honestly, all of the people who are hiding in the dark about this are cowards. "OH no, it's too embarrassing ; ( !!!" Really? Grow up, be an adult and be willing to put yourself out there. The first few times are embarrassing, but at this point my friends, family, doctors, and even random hookups have heard about it. I got over it. The only way this gets solved is you all stop crying about being too scared to be outspoken about it.

You, me, and everyone else with this problem suffer because of people who are too scared to say anything.

Also, for those that still suffer through it and might need help. Eating a more protein-oriented diet (meats well cooked), oils, vegetables, fruit--- essentially an SCD diet, along with enzymes, have helped me significantly. I know it's in the mouth for me since chlorhexedine gluconate, along with not eating foods that feed the microbiome in the mouth (cheese, breads, and oher stuff that clings to the lining in your mouth) has been a god send. every time I isolated my mouth and spit from my air tract, I could smell my own breath for a brief period.

Also, after eating, I brush, rinse with 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 4 parts water, and rinse again with 1 part baking soda and 3 parts water, to keep my mouth sterile.

Keep the research coming, OP. I'm doing the same, hoping that research facilities will do more.

paulwall1989 wrote:Honestly, all of the people who are hiding in the dark about this are cowards. "OH no, it's too embarrassing ; ( !!!" Really? Grow up, be an adult and be willing to put yourself out there. The first few times are embarrassing, but at this point my friends, family, doctors, and even random hookups have heard about it. I got over it. The only way this gets solved is you all stop crying about being too scared to be outspoken about it.

You, me, and everyone else with this problem suffer because of people who are too scared to say anything.

Having friends, getting random hookups.... Dude you barely even have bad breath. Come back when it's so bad you aren't able to have any of that, and everyone avoids you like the plague. Things like baking soda and mouth wash doesn't even affect it at that point.
Live a few years like that and then tell us how brave you are.