Question

Medical Description: My baby is 5 months old. Since birth, we have had a professional month maid taking care of him, and he has been in good health without ever getting sick. At 4 months old, due to some reason, we changed to a 21-year-old girl to take care of his diet and daily life, and she lived with him in the same room, just like the month maid. This girl has quite severe bad breath, but we never paid attention to it. Until recently, the baby suddenly developed a high fever for no apparent reason. The doctor diagnosed it as a viral oral herpes, and he had absolutely no contact with anyone or anything carrying the virus, and he is still being treated. Today, I stumbled upon an article about bad breath in the ‘Mommy Baby’ magazine, explaining that bad breath is caused by viruses attaching to the liver.

Answer

Bad breath has little effect on infants. Bad breath itself is not a disease; it is caused by various factors. These include systemic diseases (gastritis, liver disease, diabetes, etc.) or deficiencies in vitamins B6 and trace elements such as zinc; most bad breath is due to regional oral diseases, most commonly seen in adolescent girls. This is because female ovarian function is closely related to oral mucosal epithelium; when ovarian hormone secretion is normal, oral mucosal epithelium becomes healthy and firm; salivary gland secretion function is vigorous, saliva solubilizing enzyme activity increases, antibacterial action is strong, and mucosal resistance to disease increases. If ovarian hormone secretion decreases, salivary gland secretion function declines, saliva secretion decreases, saliva solubilizing enzyme activity weakens, and pathogenic bacteria in the mouth increase.