Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

Halitosisux and Aydin Murat have both previously told me in another thread that halitosis is not due to a hereditary genetic defect, but I still have some doubts.
As I mentioned my mother always had an odor on her breath, and several other participants in this forum have also stated that their mothers had BB.
Of course that could just be a coincidence, but I don't believe in too many coincidences. It also seems to be established that the overwhelming cause for BB is an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria in the mouth. Now here comes the intrigue: I know people who don't brush their teeth, don't floss, don't use mouthwash, don't scrape their tounge AND DON'T HAVE BAD BREATH!!!!!!! And when they eat onions, mustard, anchovie pizzas, they might have that smell on their breath, but pretty soon it disappears. On the other hand, those of us who have chronic BB, follow a rigorous regimen of oral hygiene and no matter what we eat or do, even when we eat nothing at all, we always have bad breath! How in the world do you explain that? Yes, we have an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria (for the umpteenth time!), but the question is why do WE have it and THEY don't. Well, shouldn't we at least consider this possible answer: They have a bacteria controlling component in their saliva and we don't. And wouldn't a genetic defect be the cause of this? How else could it be? And wouldn't a genetic defect be hereditary? Well, they pretty much always are. And I don't believe for one minute that all genetic defects have already been discovered. So I'm sorry Halitosisux and Aydin Murat, I for one am not 100% convinced.

I dont know why you have to keep insisting that we've dismissed hereditary factors. If you could actually understand what we've said, we are infact saying the complete opposite.

Aydinmur gave an example where 'ecologic and predisposant' factors may transmit from parent to child via genes, which might lead to the devlopment of BB.

And, certain well-established causes of BB (like impacted wisdom teeth) can occur because of a certain simple inherited trait, i.e. a small jawbone. Another example of inherited trait is having small sinus openings or factors that lead to sinus congestion and impaired drainage and aspiration, which can increase the chances of developing sinus issues such as infections and damage to the linings. You get the idea.

That's the known causes, but there are bound to be things we dont know about yet - missing components in saliva for example. And nobody has dismissed such possibilities. I tried to weigh up the possibility and think about it logically, and said I doubt this possibility for the simple fact that I think a detailed comparison of saliva sample taken from a person like yourself, compared to someone who never seems to have BB would likely reveal the differences.
So I concluded that saliva itself probably doesnt play a part in this type of BB. I didnt dismiss it.

In cases like yours there are very likely to be "ecological determinants" which arent yet known about, determined by our genes and passed through one generation to the next.
Sorry to say this, but that's kind of how evolution works and how humans evolved to generally arrive at having breath that does not smell bad.

Just because some of us have family members with BB, that fact doesnt mean anything on its own. Most people with BB are found to have dental causes behind it. The rest are found to have other KNOWN causes. So statistically any such correlation can only be considered coincidental.
I bet as many sufferers on here who say their mothers had BB, that there's just as many who say their mothers DONT. So yeah it IS probably nothing but total coincidence.
But that doesnt dismiss the possibility of what you are trying to say.

Everyone has different susecptibilities to BB. That's why some people can get away with not brushing their teeth or flossing or using mouthwash and scraping, and some cant. This may be determined by simple variations in "ecological determinants" or bacterial profiles between different people.
I know some people who NEVER had BB before in their lives, who developed minor dental problems and their breath starts to smell.

If you're already suffering with a stench in your mouth then eating certain food is going to exacerbate those stench buildups when its all mixed together. Someone who doesnt have stench is going to smell neutral FAR quicker.