Halitosis Halitosis Halitosis, also called bad breath, foul breath, malodor, foetor ex ore, and fetor oris is defined as an offensive odor emanating from the oral cavity.
Bad breath is a common pet odor complaint.
The sour milk odor accompanying periodontal disease may result from the bacterial population associated with plaque, calculus, unhealthy tissues, decomposing food particles retained within the oral cavity, or the rotten meat odor emanating from tissue necrosis. Contrary to common belief, neither normal lung air or stomach aroma contributes to halitosis. In the freshly cleaned and polished tooth a glycoprotein layer forms over the tooth as soon as the patient starts to salivate. Bacteria attaches to the pellicle within 6-8 hours. Within days, the plaque becomes mineralized producing calculus.