# Chronic bad breath in a 2-year-old?



## welldone (May 30, 2003)

My 2-year-old daughter has had bad breath since last March. It started at the end of a long, long cold that the doctor ended up diagnosing as a sinus infection because it wouldn't go away, and her breath started to smell. The cold lasted 12 weeks, and we never did the antibiotics because I didn't see the need. It was a stab-in-the-dark diagnosis.

Fast forward ten months. She's had foul breath ever since, and it seems to be getting slowly worse. We've always brushed her teeth with water, daily, and recently have moved to a Tom's of Maine brand baking soda toothpaste (which hasn't helped her breath in the least). She swallows the toothpaste, of course, but it's a start.









We've stopped allowing her to drink milk between meals, so now it's only water. She doesn't sleep with her mouth open and has no signs of a chronic sinus infection (even after two checkups with our doc--no ear, throat, or nose indications of sinus problems). Her teeth are perfect.

Her breath smells all day, every day. It's not worse upon wakening, and doesn't improve with brushing teeth or drinking water. Today, the doctor suggested a possible reflux problem. He said the only real way to tell was to give her Zantac for a couple of weeks to see if the problem clears up. I'm hesitant to just give her a medication just because he can't figure out what else it might be!

Please help, if you can. I'd love more thoughts to aid in sorting out my own.
Thanks!


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## mamaliss (Sep 25, 2003)

poor digestion of milk protien maybe?


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## leafylady (Nov 19, 2001)

Has your doctor checked into any other underlying health conditions that can cause bad breath? What about kidney function? A doctor can check that with a simple urine test.


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## honey (Nov 28, 2003)

Tooth abscess? Tonsil or throat infection? If not, try some chlorophyll. When my daughter was about 9, she had nasty breath for about 3 months. I finally had her start taking chlorophyll and it worked like a charm. She took it for about 2 weeks, and no more nasty breath. She took capsules, but you could give your dd the liquid. It doesn't taste bad.


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## welldone (May 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mamaliss*
poor digestion of milk protien maybe?

Would that cause bad breath? I've thought of some kind of milk problem, but couldn't imagine it causing such constant, horrible breath. Almost all of her daily protein comes from some sort of dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), so this would be a big change for us.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *leafylady*
Has your doctor checked into any other underlying health conditions that can cause bad breath? What about kidney function? A doctor can check that with a simple urine test.

I will check into this, as well. I don't know anything about kidney function, so if you do, please post more.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *honey*
Tooth abscess? Tonsil or throat infection? If not, try some chlorophyll.

I will ask the dentist when we go next month. (She's never been to the dentist, but I can bring her with me and have him take a look-see.) I'd hope that all those exams would've caught a tonsil/throat infection, but one never knows. I like our doctor okay, but he's not the most ideal. I'll check into that.

I've never checked into chlorophyll. I'll have to do some research. What is that supposed to do?

Thanks for all your replies. More would be appreciated, too. I love how many different ideas I get when I post here.


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Bad breath is one of the top symptoms for acid reflux disease. It can of course indicate a lot of other things but I'm most familiar with reflux. Has she been acting like her throat hurts, or is she drinking a lot of water or nursing a lot?


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## jordmoder (Nov 20, 2001)

our 5 year old periodically gets bad breath - I mean, BAD stinky, gross breath. I thought it was his teeth, too - So, what has seemed to help is giving him probiotics. I call them "tummy medicine" and he really likes the taste. After a day or two, his breath is fine.

our experience only, but his breath smelled like poop.... and now it doesn't. Good luck, mama.

Barbara


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## toraji (Apr 3, 2003)

Usually bad breath is indicative of poor digestion; the food is sitting in the gut not processing properly causing bad odors to form. Check out the Power of Probiotics thread for ways to include probiotics into her diet.


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## sahithya (Apr 21, 2015)

Smelly breath(also known as Halitosis) is a common disorder among kids. Sometimes this might cause serious medical ailments and health hazards. Read this article to know the causes and remedies for bad breath in kids: http://www.momjunction.com/articles/remedies-to-cure-bad-breath-in-children_0077140/


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