Help with Childs BAD Breath

My 5yo has bad breath, too - not terrible, but noticeable. We think it's probably his tonsils because the doctor always comments on how large they look, and he got strep 3x last year. We're just trying to hold off because we would hate to have them removed if they will improve on their own.

Also, we're going to ask his doctor about tonsil stones. I saw an article recently about them and here's the wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith

My nephew had really bad breathe when he was about 4. We thought for sure there was tooth decay or something. I do know that they said not to use anything fruity for a toothpaste or rinse. They also started to brush his tongue and inside his cheeks. They also started flossing, not easy with such a little mouth. I know he does not ahve it so bad now. He just turned 12.

Bad breath can sometimes be a sign of infection like another poster mentioned. Especially nose infections. Many times a kid shoves something up the nose and the parent doesn't even know. The foreign object can fester and cause infection. Definitely have the doc look in her ears/nose/throat thoroughly to rule that out. I know of someone who put some cotton up there and it caused terrible breathe due to an infection. It was taken out and it cleared right up.

My son had bad breath when he was little. It was so bad that I often thought the offending smell was his diaper. It was awful! Turned out he had a chronic infection. He never complained of a sore throat, but his tonsils were a mess! They took them out and the bad breath cleared right up. I don't know, but you might want to have it checked!

good luck!

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make sure she brushes her tongue.
my husband and i notice that HE has bad breath after he eats meat.

Another mom mentioned flossing, which I know is hard for for 5 yr olds to do. My 5 yr old uses FunFlossers (A bright orange pkg, sold at Wal-mart by the tooth brushes). Anyway they're little plastic handles w/a small piece of floss string on them. My kids like using them.

Another idea that my dentist suggested for my 7 yr old (has bad breath now & then) is to use a tongue scraper. They really work. She uses it after she brushes.

Good luck!