Lasers may treat one source of bad breath

Everyone wants to zap their bad breath away, and a relatively conservative medical procedure may let you do just that. Called laser cryptolosis, it is a treatment that eliminates a potent source of halitosis - cryptic tonsils.

The tonsils are lymphatic sacs located at the back of the throat that help the body respond to infections. Healthy tonsils are pink and fairly smooth, but when inflamed they may appear red and covered with bumps or folds. Excessively creased instances are called cryptic tonsils. They contribute to bad breath by catching food particles and forming tonsil stones, which are small, whitish accretions of collagen that exude a powerful odor.

If you’ve ever coughed up a tonsil stone, you probably have not forgotten the smell. Tonsil stones can cause halitosis that flossing and brushing the teeth hardly helps. A study in the journal Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery has found that laser cryptolosis may successfully treat this problem.

The procedure involves the application of a laser beam to the tonsils, which burns away the folds that can create tonsil stones. The procedure eliminated halitosis in more than 85 percent of patients after three sessions, according to the study. Compared to a tonsillectomy, laser cryptolosis is less invasive.

Beyond tonsil stones, there are many causes of bad breath. To eliminate its odors, individuals with halitosis may consider rinsing the palate with a specialty breath freshening product that neutralizes sulfuric odor compounds and leaves the mouth smelling fresh.