Offensive smell from the mouth is a common complaint in the day to day medical practice. It mainly affects those who mingle with others very closely. Bad breath is noticed mainly by the friends and family members or some times person himself feel it and come to the doctor. Many bad breathers develop depression which forces them to be away from the society which in turn hampers their activities.

The proteins in the food debris are degraded by the anaerobic bacteria present in the mouth. Offensive odor is produced due to release of some gases like hydrogen sulphide, skatol etc due to bacterial activity. Formation of a thin sticky membrane on the tongue favours bacterial growth. Bacteria are also seen in the crypts of tonsils, dental caries, dental pockets etc. Bad breath is associated with oral hygiene, caries, gingivitis, tonsillitis, tonsillar plaques, food habits, water intake, tobacco chewing, stomach and liver diseases and etc.

Homoeopathy is a system of medicine introduced by a German physician Dr Samuel Hahnemann. Homoeopathy treats the diseased individual as a whole rather than treating diseased parts or organs. The physical, mental, emotional, social spheres of a person are considered for a permanent cure. This system believes that the diseases are caused due to the derangement of vital force which is an invisible power in every individual.

In a healthy state the vital force maintains the equilibrium of mind body and soul. During this man will have normal sensations and functions. When the vital force gets affected there will be external manifestations in the form of signs and symptoms. The imbalance in the body functions makes a shelter for foreign organisms(bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa etc) and allows them to proliferate and produce so called diseases. Homoeopathy believes that the real disease comes before the bacteria and viruses, hence the root cause of the disease has to be treated for a permanent cure. The antibacterial and antiviral agents only remove the secondary causes mentioned above.

Diseases are produced by noxious horrific agents called Miasms which are dynamic influences which affect the vital force. There are mainly three miasms psora, syphilis and sycosis. These three causes are accepted by other schools of medicine but called by different names. Psora causes functional disturbances, syphilis cause structural changes in the form of destructions and sycosis causes changes in the form of overgrowth. These three miasms can act individually or in combined form producing different disease conditions.

To treat bad breath with homoeopathic medicine is easy if correct remedy in suitable dose is given. In the homoeopathic medical repertory by Dr Robin Murphy there are 140 homoeopathic drugs mentioned for bad breath. So just giving one drug for bad breath may not give good result. To come to a correct remedial diagnosis we should have the symptomatology of the person. It is the total symptoms of a person which includes mental generals, physical generals, particular symptoms etc. Bad breath is considered as a physical general symptom. Even though it comes only from a part of the body it affects the whole individual.

Symptoms related with appetite, thirst, bowels etc. are included in physical generals.

All signs and symptoms (mental and physical) of the person are taken in detail. Knowledge about past illnesses, family history of diseases, food and bowel habits, relation to climatic changes and constitution etc are noted down in a systematic order.

Mental symptoms: Example: fear, anxiety, depression, anger, jealousy and etc...

Physical symptoms: Example: Body makeup, appetite, thirst, desires, aversions, bowels, urination, sleep, taste, nature of smell, discharges any abnormal sensations like pain, burning, climatic changes, thermal relations, and etc...

Peculiar uncommon symptoms:

This is the speciality of homoeopathic system of medicine. For the selection of a suitable remedy these symptoms are very important. Common symptoms which are seen almost in all patients are least important.

Particular local signs and symptoms:

This includes signs and symptoms related to body parts and organs.

Example: Coating on the tongue, nature of mucus membrane of oral cavity, tonsils, gums, teeth, ulcers, discolouration's etc. are considered here.

Systemic and general physical examination:

Bad breath can be due to various systemic and disorders. Hence all systems (respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system, cardio vascular system and etc.) and parts from head to foot should be examined.

Provisional disease diagnosis; Here probable diseases are diagnosed. In homoeopathy disease diagnosis is not that much important for the selection of a remedy, but needed for general management and to know the prognosis.

Investigations:

This includes lab investigations and other methods to find out any other major illnesses.

Final disease diagnosis:

After doing all investigations the disease is then diagnosed.