My 9Yr Old's Bad Breath

Hi A.,
I know when my kid's breath stink is usually because they have a sore throat or sinus infection. Its like one of the first signs I get sometimes.

There are lots of different things it could be. My daughter had horrible breath. She also got strep throat a lot. Once we got her tonsils taken out the horrible smell went away. So, it could be related to his tonsils.

Hi A.,
Many times it's not teeth that cause bad breath, but rather the stomach.
You might want to ask his pediatrician about it.
Best of luck,
J.
Austin, TX

As a former dental tech. I can tell you that there are several things that can cause bad breath. Foods, medications,stomach,teeth, and even acid reflux, sinus infections will also. Check with your family Dr. this may be part of his problem. All of them are easy fix's. Good luck.

I know that when I have nosebleeds, I have really awful breath after that. Also, if I have enough drainage from my sinuses that I'm mouth-breathing at night, I end up with very bad breath.

I'd check out the allergies and sinuses first, then see if there's anything with his teeth or dental hygiene that might be contributing to the problem, and then check into digestive issues if the first two aren't the problem.

If you can rinse his sinuses, or at least rinse out his nose, with saline spray once a day, that may help while you're waiting to see a doctor, if you have to wait. "Little Noses" is good saline for that.

(Someone advised giving acidophilus; if he has any sort of digestive issues, that's not a bad idea in general, even if it has nothing to do with the bad breath. I give my kids acidophilus when they're having digestive problems, and it helps significantly.)

It could be a NUMBER of things wrong! Dont rush into anything rash!!! You need to take him to see a dr and talk to them about the problem. My stepson has the same problem and its not just me that notices it! Its FOUL!!! Alot of his problems was because hes gets cavaties ALOT!!! He doesnt even get alot of sugar he has hyper problems but he has rotten teeth (they dont look like it) and he brushes very regularly and goes to the dentist on the regular. Also he has bad allergies and that causes ALOT of the smell too. But I have read that stomach problems can cause bad breath too... If you take him to the dr and they cant tell you what it could be I would find a different dr! We use alot of listerine strips and breathe mints!!! LOL

It's the tonsils! Have them taken out....this breath issue will plague him for the rest of his life if you don't have them out. He will always be self conscious of it. And kids are mean and will tell him he has bad breath...:(. They probl. already do say this. Take him to the dr. and tell him you want them out. It may be those throat stnes, which can only be "cured" by taking the tonsils out.

take him to see an ENT he may need his tonsils removed

I would suggest you get that dental check-up ASAP. In the meantime, you didn't mention mouth-wash and flossing. The short pre-strung dental floss is good for kids, and comes in bubblegum flavor. Also, you may want to purchase a neti pot for nasal irrigation for every day purpose. Follow the instructions. I use the regular nasal bottle for my child and it greatly reduces secretions in the nasal passages and helps with post-nasal drip that can lead to bad breath. I also recommend a battery operated toothbrush(soft bristles), flavored toothpaste and a timer to set for your child so he/she knows when the two minute limit is up for proper brushing. Two brushings per day at the minimum. Good luck!

I have a daughter that is now seventeen. When she was a baby until about five years ago. She could brush her teeth over and over and would still have bad breath. The doctor told me that she had some sinus drainage that could be causing it. But the doctor said that the drainage was nothing to worry about. As she got older it stopped.
Hope this will ease your mind some.

it sounds like hes toxic. intestinal toxicity can happen over the weirdest things, from bad diet to eating alot of fruit with other foods. the fruit rots in his intestine between all the other foods and doesnt pass as easy af it were eaten alone. go to central market and i can alomst guarantee theyll tell you what the problem is and give your son a solution. no matter how young he is they are generally safe. dont bring him to a doctor for this, or theyll give him meds that with only cause side effects. i had this when i was ten. it was a simple solution of using baking soda or alkaseltzer for a rotten stomach and acidopholous which we live by. check it out, it will help you and your family in so many other ways. good luck

Does he brush his tongue? What about mouthrinse?

You should tell him to be sure & floss before brushing (I use the Reach gentle gum care, it's made of thread type stuff it's a LOT easier on the gums & so much easier to use than regular nylon type floss) & also that after he brushes his teeth, brush his tongue before he finishes up then rinse well of course (swish w/minty mouthwash if needed too) & see if that helps. Brushing the tongue at least works wonders! If not then he may have something else wrong w/his teeth or gums. Sometimes poor dental hygine can cause bad breath & although he brushes, he might still have less than perfect dental hygine because sometimes, kids don't brush as good/thorough as adults. I never did & got 4 cavities as a result, that did it for me, I became obsessive about brushing & flossing after that! Best of luck!

Take him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doc to have his tonsils and adnoids checked. They can cause problems like that without the normal things you would think of like sore throat, etc. My son had his removed when he was barely two for that reason and they were swollen really huge!!

Allergies give breath a horrible smell, even after brushing. Whenever I have bad allergies or a sinus infection - I have bad breath all day long. It's probably not his fault. Try giving him a mouthwash rinse to see if that helps. They have some for kids. Otherwise, let him chew some gum or something. I would also sit in and watch him brushing his teeth just to make sure he is doing it properly.

Is he flossing? Is he about to get a sore thoat? Also I started pubirty when I was nine! Good luck. Hope he's not getting sick!

Could be a sinus infection, or dental - get him in when you can. Do you teach him to floss?

Good luck!
Alli

My son had the same problem. I was told that he was low on zinc and to get him a zinc supplement. I did and the bad breath went away. I found the supplement at Sun Harvest...in the children's vitamin section. Best wishes.

Sinus problems and if he still has his tonsils, might be the cause of it.

Try flossing his teeth and buy a mouth wash for children.

Good Luck.

Rosie

I would get a referral to an ENT ( ear, nose, throat Dr. ). Many times bad breath comes from post nasal drip (from the allergies) or even from infections of the tonsils or adenoids. The ENT can likely determine if there is a medical cause. At this point be careful of quick fixes like gum or listerine, they may be masking a problem. If the ENT gets nothing, talk to the dentist to rule out gum disease or other mouth infections. Good luck to you both!

You didn't mention whether you were flossing or not, but that could well be a factor.

I think bad breath is sometimes caused by post-nasal drip, so you could do the over the counter saline sinus rinses with him and maybe some decongestants. If money is a concern (for getting his teeth cleaned) you might want to try going to a dental school clinic. The students work under the supervision of their professors. The fees are much lower than private dentists, and the quality of care is very high.

Good luck with your move!

Hi this is M. Garcia and i just might know the problem to your solution,i have nine kids of my own and i to have gone through just about the same problem, it's time for a clean up give him some exlax to clean he's insides and that should do the job i promise you could even ask a docter he should tell you the same. ps let me know how your son is doing it should work.

Hi A.,
Your son's bad breath may be caused by digestive issues. If his stomach is upset by nervousness or worry that can cause bad breath. You mentioned allergies. If he has much drainage, that could be it. If a person's breath smells sweet like juicy fruit gum, that indicates a problem with blood sugar. Does your son have a good bowel movement regularly? If he does not, his digestive system needs some help getting moving properly. You are wise to keep searching for a solution. C.

It may be something in his GI tract. Does he have heartburn, or gurd? Does he eat a lot of spicy foods or garlic? Or it my be some type of infection. Because bacteria stink. It also may be something in his lungs. Think about the things he may be exposed to in the air that may contribute to it. Most smokers breath is horrible because of all the smoke and tar that has accumulated in their lungs. So I would take him to the dentist, and if it's not something oral then I would take him to the doctor and see if you can find the cause. Best of luck.

MY son had NASTY breath and he usually doesn't.
We went to the dr.and sinus drainage was the cause.
Take him to the dr.and see what they say.
My son had a sinus infection and the meds he is on cleared up the smell in a few days.

hi ,,
try giving him acadapholis it in the vitiam section it controls the good and bad bacterys that you have but it will help
good luck L.

Hi A.,

Have him floss every other day (until he gets older and understands the importance of flossing) and have him rinse with the Crest mouthwash "does not sting" morning & night and if it still doesn't seem to get better. Then he's probably not drinking enough water. My little boy had the same problem and I had read in a magazine that when children are constipated because they don't drink enough water that they will start having bad breath. And so I wondered if it could really be true. My boy when he was younger hated to drink water until I told him that he was starting to have bad breath because he wasn't drinking enough water to clean his system AND THEN he starts drinking water. He started going to the restroom more frequently now the odor is gone. You can also have him eat an apple a day for a healthy snack & because they are high in fiber. Well, I hope this was helpful information.

P.S. Oh, you may want to take him to the dentist for a check up too because cavaties can also cause bad breath.

Try dipping his toothbrush in listerine and have brush with that after he uses his regular toothpaste. This is what works for my son.

Morning A.;
I think there are two things>>>>#1 What is your diet?
Are you feeding him lots of foods with spices and garlic?
If so, then cut those out for 2 weeks and see if his breath
inproves!
#2
Big worry>>>take him to a doctor who specializes in Internal
Medicine!
Do not wish to scare you, but, would do this pretty quickly!
B. C.

It sounds like post-nasal drip. Is he prone to cavities? You don't mention whether he flosses or uses a water pik daily. Trapped food is a major bad breath factor. You should definitely mention it to both his pediatrician and his pediatric dentist. In the meantime, try a saline flush for his allergies, flossing and/or water pik, an age-appropriate mouthwash, and make sure he brushes his tongue.

I am not trying to worry you, so please just take a breath. I don't know how long you are talking about for his bad breath. So here is my story. My 7 year old was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in July. I took her to the ER when I put together what was happening. I recognized the alcohol/fruity smell to her breath. She was not sick yet and her blood sugar was not all that high especially compared to most that enter the ER. I was fortunate and just happen to know about the breath odor being related to diabetes. She was showing other signs but very slightly. Some extra thirst and going to the bathroom but not yet a big deal, she wasn't far enough along for all the classic symptoms. Looking back I had noticed one time 2 weeks before we went to the ER that her breath had a alcohol smell but it did not trigger my thoughts on the topic. Anyway she had been having non-alcohol/fruity bad breath since March. So my contemplation is how long ago did she actually start the autoimmune issue that led to juvenile diabetes? The endocrinologist won't really get into this conversation with me. They don't have any answers other than 'this is what she has' and 'this is the medicine she has to take'.
So, mainly I am just saying to simply be aware of the alcohol/fruity smell effect and the other early signs such as being very thirsty and having to pee alot. I wouldn't freak out and have my kid tested for diabetes or even worry about unless you notice these things and IF it happens you will have responded early enough.
Other than that, my experience is that minimal bad breath is the teeth, moderate bad breath is the gums, throat, or sinuses, and horrible bad breath is the stomach/digestion.

If it is sorta sour smelling it can be classic sinus drip. My 3 year old got it when we moved here and from Sept-May it's a constant battle

he may have a sinus infection. Our former neighbor had the same thing and his regular doctor didn't find it because he didn't have all the regular signs. It was deep rooted and it cause him to have horribly bad breath. So try and ENT. Hope that helps.

Try using a tongue scrapper. You can buy them just about anywhere. Also make sure he flosses the premade flosser are easiest.
S.