Most of us have come across the bitter experience of a bad taste in the mouth. You can feel this bad taste either in the form of a metallic taste in the mouth or foul and salty taste. Because of this weird and bad taste, you end up having a poor appetite and thus end up losing body weight.  This taste may be due to poor oral hygiene or may be due to the side effect of any medication you must be taking. But, if regular brushing, flossing, and rinsing of mouth and stopping of prescribed drugs don’t give you relief from the bad taste, then it is the right time you should seek medical advice on it.

Classification of bad taste:

  1. Metallic
  2. Foul
  3. Salty
  4. Bitter
  5. Sickly sweet

Possible causes:

  1. Poor Oral Health:

Dental problems like gingivitis, periodontitis and tooth cavities are the most common causes of the bad taste in the mouth. Infection of the tooth, inflammation of gums and tooth abscess are the other possible causes of bad taste.

  1. Dry Mouth:

Sometimes, aging, use of tobacco, cancer treatment, diabetes or neurological disorders can cause saliva to dry up completely from the mouth. Saliva is important to kill the bacteria present in the mouth, thus preventing bad taste in the mouth.

  1. Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease:

Sour taste in the mouth is also the result of Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease. Often, abbreviated as GERD or GORD, in this disease, acid from the stomach refluxes back from the stomach to the esophagus causing a sour and bad taste in the mouth.

  1. Fungal infection in the mouth:

Sometimes, a fungus called Candida grows in the mouth and causes infection. This is called Oral Thrush. Metallic taste in the mouth and cottony feeling is one of the symptoms of oral thrush.

  1. Upper Respiratory Tract Infections:

Respiratory tract organs like sinus, tonsils and middle ear are interconnected with each other and with the mouth. Infection of the sinus (Sinusitis), infection of tonsils (Tonsillitis) and infection of the middle ear (Otitis media), all are hence responsible for bad taste in the mouth. Moreover, antibiotics used to treat these infections also causes bad taste in the mouth.

  1. Hepatitis B and other viral infections: Many viral infections like Hepatitis B cause a bitter taste in the mouth.
  2. Hormonal imbalances in women: Pregnancy and menopause are the few conditions in the women that cause hormonal imbalance. This imbalance is also responsible for the bitter taste in the mouth.
  3. Medications: Many medicines like antibiotics, antidepressants, and antihypertensive causes bad taste as their side effect.

Effective home remedies:

  1. Maintaining regular oral hygiene like brushing, flossing and mouth rinsing.
  2. Chewing sugar-free gum to produce saliva.
  3. Drinking plenty of water.
  4. Quitting tobacco.
  5. Avoid the intake of alcohol and caffeine.
  6. Avoiding spicy food to control acid reflux.
  7. Limit sugar intake to control oral thrush.