Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

Hi all,
For the past few months I have been attempting to eliminate each possible cause of my bb. I am now quite focused on my gums and teeth and tonsils, as I believe (hope) one of these is the problem. I need advice from some of you that have been helped, or not helped, by any of these treatments.

Here's a little info:

-All wisdom teeth removed
-two mouth surgeries, around 5 years ago (right around the time my bb started)
-chronic throat clearing, but i have really tried to stop, and i don't think this is a source of my bb because my sister and dad both do this too, with no bb
-my tonsils absolutely stink, and i have tonsils stones that i have a very hard time removing
-good oral hygiene; brush multiple times daily, along with flossing and tongue brushing
-back of tongue is white

Here is what I think: I believe that either my tonsils are full of stones, and drip onto the back of my tongue, making it white, and dry out my mouth and make my back right molar stink (it's my right tonsil that really stinks)
OR
it's my back right molar that is the problem, as it always smells when I floss, and this is making my tonsils stink, which makes tongue white, and dries out mouth, and yada yada yada

I truly believe that It is one of these things that is really causing all my problems. So my question to all of you:

If you had tonsils removed, why did you have them removed, and what were the results?
or
If you suspect your teeth, gums, what have you done about it, and what were the results?

I would really appreciate any input that you have.

As of now, I have an appointment scheduled with a periodontist to get x-rays and a cleaning and any input that he might have. After that, if he finds nothing, I am going to schedule an appt with an ENT to get my tonsils removed. I realize by now that my bb isn't just going to go away, and I need to do something about it if I want things to change.

Sorry this is so long winded and thanks for reading

Hi Phineas,

I had tonsil stones in the past and so had my tonsils removed. Unfortunately, this did nothing to improve my bb...but some people have been cured after a tonsillectomy so I'd never rule it out completely, it's really up to you to deceide if it will be worth going through the pain of the recovery if it's not going to help you. Personally, even though it didn't help my bb I'm still glad I had it done as it eliminated this area as a possible cause and I don't have to worry about getting stones anymore.

I've also had my top two wisdom teeth removed with no success so I'm now in a similar situation to you, thinking it's now either my remaining wisdoms, other teeth, gums or sinuses.

I think you're right that a white tongue and tonsil stones are more likely to be a symptom rather than an actual root cause of bb, although they cetainly contribute to it. The problem now is trying to find the source of the bb.

I'm also going to go back to my dentist for more x-rays and also to have him check my gums out... Good luck with you periodontist appointment, let me know how it goes.

hi phineas,
I agree with snobuni. I wonder, were you aware of tonsil stones or the smell from them before your BB kicked in?

There was a post quite recently where i discussed this subject and how it related to my situation, but basically a right-side wisdom was causing my BB and while i still had tonsils in it was my right side which smelled a LOT worse than my left and produced most of the stones, even though both sides were just as crypted.

In my case my tongue smelled bad until i had that tooth out, so without question my tooth/gum discharge was behind the rest of the odours, including possibly the tonsil odour. I think sinus issues can have exactly the same process as my tooth did, where some infection is present in there and odour is clearly coming from the nasal cavities. I agree with you that odourless PND is nothing more than maybe an exacerbating factor.

Focus on that tooth and have it extracted if there are any doubts remaining. My advice to anyone is leave tonsils as absolute last resort, i dont think a healthy mouth will cause anyone's tonsils to smell and produce stones, its only where there is infection somewhere like gums or sinuses for instance and consequent buildup of VSCs on the tongue that leads to these tonsils odours/stones.

Good luck with your appointment.

Hi Phineas,

If you had tonsils removed, why did you have them removed, and what were the results?
or

I got my tonsils removed because of tonsil stones. i could literally touch my tonsils and smell the odour from the stones. ALso when I breathed out I could smell the tonsil stones odour.

As of now, I have an appointment scheduled with a periodontist to get x-rays and a cleaning and any input that he might have. After that, if he finds nothing, I am going to schedule an appt with an ENT to get my tonsils removed. I realize by now that my bb isn't just going to go away, and I need to do something about it if I want things to change.

Sorry this is so long winded and thanks for reading

No worries about the length of your post, we are here to help each other.

Its good to see that you are going the extra mile to get help. That is the way forward I believe. Never give up. Always, find new ways to test this bb so as to find a cure.

I wish you all the best with that phineas.

Please keep us updated about the periodontal visit.

Drastic

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Snobuni: I hear what you're saying about tonsils being a last resort, but I'm not going to let a few weeks of pain stop me from possibly being helped. I just read that your root canals may possibly be the culprit...awesome news! Can I ask, do you have dental insurance, and if not, how much were your x rays? My perio appt isn't covered by insurance and the exam alone is going to cost around $400 (USD).

Hali: I see what you're saying about the sinuses, and I believe that would be my next approach if this doesn't work out. What were your symptoms before you had your tooth removed? (ie bb, dry mouth, white tongue, etc). Also, was it you that had said that a course of Metronisomething (antibiotic) helped ur bb when you still had it? If that was the case, why were you put on it?

Drastic: You had your tonsils removed...what was the result? Any improvement? Any changes at all?

I have my perio appointment this upcoming Wednesday 4/22 and I will let you all know the results