Why Does My Baby Have Bad Breath?

Babies are suppose to smell good aren't they? This reminds me of the Seinfeld show where they all look at the baby and realize its got to be the ugliest baby they've ever seen. Babies I'm told are suppose to smell sweet and fresh from all the baby powder, right?

But here's the scenario: You look down into the crib and that baby looks so innocent and beautiful. The parent (my sister) wants you to hold junior and cuddle him. So you reach down and pick him up.  Your nose takes over and you begin to think, when was the last time junior was changed?  After a little more investigation you realize the stink is coming from his mouth. So you think, what's this stinky breath all about?

What is it about? Babies don't smoke, don't eat garlic and onions, don't drink alcohol. I checked his mouth and he has no teeth, so not brushing and flossing isn't the problem. What can cause such an odor?

A friend filled me in on the details and gave me way too much information. It seems that a lot of bad breath comes from bacteria. Ugh. Then my friend informed me that all of us have these bacteria in our mouths. Not what I wanted to hear. She talked about anaerobic bacteria that produce a sulfurous - to us a bad - smell. Okay, that was bad enough. Then she went on to enlighten me with information I did not need to know. These bacteria feed on bits of food and other stuff in our mouths, digest the proteins, and - oh boy - produce waste products that smell bad. Yeah. Most waste products do, but I don't usually have those in my mouth. And what do babies eat that makes their breath stink?

Milk. Or formula. Babies eat and have stuff left in their mouths the same as we (grownups) do. Then they drool or gum on their blankies and pacifiers and things, transferring the bacteria to those items. Lots of stinky stuff!

The next thing I found out is that having a dry mouth can cause bad breath. This is back to those bacteria again. Less moisture in the mouth, the more the bacteria like it. That's what anaerobic means. they don't like oxygen. More moisture, more oxygen. Dry mouth, more bacteria. So if junior sleeps with his mouth open like Papa does, he can create more bacteria and infant bad breath while he sleeps. And here I thought a sleeping baby was really great. You just can't win.

If you've gotten this far you probably want to know more and what to do about your baby's bad breath, right? Your going to have to follow this link to find out why.