Missing breakfast ‘a common cause of bad breath in teenagers’

A study published in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene has shown a link between skipping breakfast and bad breath in teenagers.

The research indicated that adolescents are almost twice as likely to suffer from halitosis when they skip breakfast, with one-fifth of participants saying they had not eaten a morning meal and 36 percent of these suffering with bad breath.

Moreover, it was shown that only about half of those who presented with bad breath were conscious that they were suffering from it, suggesting the need for better education about oral health issues in this demographic.

Not cleaning the tongue thoroughly was another major factor in a person developing bad breath.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "Introducing an oral health education programme which incorporates bad breath as a motivational tool may be beneficial in triggering teenagers into better oral health behaviour."

As well as being a problem in its own right, bad breath may be a signifier of an underlying condition, including infections in the throat, nose or lungs, sinusitis, bronchitis, diabetes, or liver and kidney problems.