How Smoking And Bad Bad Breath Drives Away Friends: And How To Win Them Back
Smokers are often beset by a variety of health information explaining how dangerous their habit is to their health. However, few really truly understand how smoking, and how it creates bad breath, can literally drive people away from you. Thankfully, it is possible to counter this effect by quitting smoking and improving your dental health.
Why People Recoil From Those With Bad Breath
As you smoke, you are introducing a variety of dangerous and destructive chemicals into your mouth. These chemicals will speed up dental decay and increase the prominence of other dental health concerns, including the onset of halitosis or bad breath.
Long-time smokers often have the kind of dental problems that cause recurring halitosis, which is further increased in potency by the scent of tobacco on the breath. Halitosis often contains a variety of chemicals, such as hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and cadaverine, chemicals that will make you smell like rotten eggs, feces, and corpses, respectively. It will also make you smell sick to others.
This May Trigger The Idea That You're Sick
Your sense of smell, or the olfactory sense, is one of the most powerful and misunderstood of all the senses. Few people understand how scents actually trigger memories and emotions, including feelings of fear and even disgust. The truth is, that halitosis caused by smoking will create smells that will be identified as "sickness" in other people.
That's right, people can literally smell disease and sickness on others. Those scents are very potent and hard to ignore, which is a major reason people will be avoiding you if you have those scents. And the bad breath smells of halitosis may trigger that reaction.
How To Fix The Problem
The first step in the process is to quit smoking. This may be the toughest step, due to the addictive nature of tobacco. Try using cessation aids, such as nicotine gum and vaporizers. Slowly decrease your doses until you no longer feel the need to use. Only decrease your doses in a manner suggested by a medical professional.
Now you need to take better care of your oral health. Visit a dentist every six months for a cleaning and checkup. Make sure to get any decay or infections taken care of immediately. Brush and floss at least two times a day, three times if necessary. Rinse your mouth out with mouthwash from time to time to eliminate bacteria that contribute to halitosis.
Taking better care of your oral health, and quitting smoking, can help eliminate halitosis and the scent of sickness that may be instinctively driving away your friends. Talk to a dentist like Dr. Jon Douglas Lesan, DDS, RpH, PA for more information.
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