Seems like an obvious question, but are you brushing her teeth twice a day? When you brush her teeth, do you brush her tongue too? Lotsa bacteria live there & can get a bit stinky if you don't brush them off.
I find dairy makes my toddler's breath stinky. Does she eat/drink much dairy?
At the moment I am not brushing her teeth twice a day, she wont even open her mouth for me to brush them because of teeth coming through. She has had her teeth brushed since the stinky breath started but not well and no I have not brushed her tongue.
I'd say that's the culprit then.. especially if she does eat any dairy. At around 16-17 months I noticed my toddlers breath was stinky in the mornings if we missed brushing his teeth the night before, and that was around the time he started eating solids properly (late starter - he was still 80% BM until then). I wish someone would invent a yummy tasting spray on listerine for toddlers. Would make dental care so much easier in the first couple of years!
Maybe it is just plain old teething. DS gets stinky breath when he's teething and because it can take weeks for them to come through it is something that seems to linger. We call it 'tuna breath' because it is a fairly distinct fishy kind of smell. And he doesn't like fishy food so it can't be tuna stuck in his teeth! He also seems to get a cold/sore throat/runny nose/run down when he's teething which I think just exacerbates the problem.
If she seems well in every other way, I would just watch her for a few more weeks and wait at least a week after the new teeth have broken through (as long as there is no more teeth threatening to cut either). If it clears up then - GREAT, if not then you can look at other possible reasons. And try to keep up the dental hygiene, I know how hard it is though - we have the same issues!!
My DS2 started getting tonsilitis last year and has had it constantly since then. He always gets bad breath when another case of it is coming on. However even when he is well over it he still has bad breath. He hasnt had tonsilitis now for 4 weeks and is well, but still has the bad breath. We are currently going through the process to have his tonsils removed as he gets it pretty bad and convulses. Good Luck.
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He also seems to get a cold/sore throat/runny nose/run down when he's teething which I think just exacerbates the problem.
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