The Bad Breath Bible

What to Do when Baby has Bad Breath During Sleep

You dream of holding and cuddling your newborn for 9 long months. When your baby finally arrives, you hold them close and do everything you can to nourish their development. You notice, however, when you're tucking their blankets around them in the late evening hours, that something doesn't quite smell right. You check the diaper, but it is clean. You smell the blankets, but they've been recently washed and smell fine. You then realize, however, that the smell isn't coming from your baby's linens or their diaper, but rather from your baby's mouth.

Bad Breath in a Baby?

It may be strange to think that your baby has bad breath even though they don't have any visible teeth, but it actually is not that strange. Many parents worry about their child's bad breath, but most are too embarrassed to speak with their physician about it. This, however, is something that you may want to speak with your physician about as soon as possible, because there can be a number of things that can cause your child's breath to smell.

The first of these conditions may be due to some sort of an infection in your child's mouth. Try looking around his or her mouth to see if anything looks off. If you notice any strange white spots or bumps, you should speak with your pediatrician as soon as you can. You may, however, not be able to notice anything wrong physically, especially if the problem is located in the nasal passage or in the sinus.

Another common cause of a baby bad breath during sleep can be because they are a child who sleeps with their mouth open most of the time. Some babies sleep with their mouth closed and use their nose to breathe the most. These children often do not have a problem with smells coming out of their mouth. Children who sleep with their mouths open, however, tend to get drier mouths. The more dry the mouth is, the more likely that the bacteria can grow in the mouth, thereby causing bad breath. This condition is also what causes most people to have bad morning breath when they first wake up.

One way to help prevent bad breath if your baby is a mouth sleeper is to clean out their mouth the first thing in the morning. You can use a wet washcloth (firmly held, of course) to moisten their mouth and to get the saliva running again. Some babies will even have less of a problem with this once they have their morning breakfast. You can also try a baby toothbrush. Just be sure that you use toothpaste specially formulated for babies, as adult toothpaste can be toxic.

If, however, your child still has issues when they have saliva running, make sure to speak with your pediatrician, as there could be an underlying problem.