"VERY Bad Breath"

It sounds like they both have good oral hygiene so the bad breath could be caused by a gastrointestinal issue or a sinus issue like post-nasal drip. You should have them see their pediatrician.

My guess....tonsil stones.

Bring it up to the pediatrician.

When my friend was a kid he said he had horrible breath...like fecal matter...and he was made fun of and shunned a lot in elementary school. I forget what it was, but it turns out there was something wrong in his stomach or intestine/bowel and by seeing doctors they finally fixed it. It could also be an impacted tooth. An infection in a tooth, throat, or elsewhere will cause this. See the doctor and the dentist to get to the bottom of this bc that is not normal.

Could be tonsil stones. Basically, all the "stuff" that accumulates gets caught in the pits of the tonsils. It can REALLY smell bad, esp if the child has deep pits or really large tonsils. If you take a flashlight and look at their tonsils, you might see white stone-like things in the tonsils. If you see that, then that's the smell.

Time to talk to their doctor

Do they have allergies? Chronically stuffy noses can lead to mouth breathing, which can cause bad breath. In this case, the solution is to treat the allergies.

Have you taken them to the pediatric dentist lately? They both need routine care and the Dr could help you figure out the issue.

I agree with both previous responses.... They must floss as well and tonsil stones do smell horribly.

Do you assist in the tooth brushing? They say that children need their parents to go in after them and brush, because until they are around 8 years old they simply don't have the dexterity needed to brush thoroughly. Also, each tooth brushing session is supposed to last for 2 minutes. I have a timer in the bathroom, and my 3.5 yo gets to set it and brush for 2 minutes, then I set it for one more and go over everything again for her. Then she flosses with her princess pick, they again go and do it for her myself.

I agree to add flossing if you aren't already. Use a floss pick, and it is pretty easy. I have been flossing my DD's teeth since she had two close enough to need floss, and she doesn't fight it in the least.

Dry mouth can cause bad breath as well... Make sure they are drinking plenty of water through the day.

Another thing... Make sure there isn't anything stuck in their noses. Apparently, my SIL stuck a Barbie shoe in her nose when she was a kid. It was in there for 3 MONTHS before her parents took her to the doctor because of her nasty breath. :/ eeeew. Lol.

It might be their tonsils. My daughter always had bad breath, and then one day I was looking in her mouth and saw a huge white lump in the back of her throat.

I learned then about cryptic tonsils, and tonsil stones. When I pushed on this white lump, big chunks of putrid-smelling goo oozed out of her tonsils, and kept coming out for months afterward. She is now grown but she still has to occasionally express (that means squeeze) her tonsils, to get out the goo.

There is almost nothing that smells worse than tonsil stones, except for maybe a dead body. And in response to someone who said it's not normal -- unfortunately, because people don't routinely have their tonsils removed any more, bad breath is very common. You should smell some of the breath in middle school.

Google tonsil stones or tonsilloths -- you will find some extremely disgusting videos on YouTube, but you will learn about them. Here's one video -- be prepared to be grossed out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqHQWJ7XTzU

Could be what they are eating too. Not saying you don't feed them well, but maybe try changing up your diet and see if that helps. More fruits and veggies and make sure they are drinking plenty of water too! Sometimes bad breath can come from dry mouth. Good luck!

Start with flossing, add a mouthwash (there are lots made just for kids) and see if you can manage getting them to brush a third time each day.

Then think about their diets. Does your family have anything regularly in its diet that commonly causes bad breath? Garlic, onions, spices that the adults might process better but possibly the kids' bodies are pumping the odors out via their mouths?

Do you think that the bad breath is stronger at certain times of the day or certain days of the week? Think over it hard -- is it stronger when they get home from school or preschool if the younger one goes to preschool? They might need that third brushing right after school or preschool due to eating snacks and/or lunch and not being able to brush right away.

I also would go ahead and take them for a dental checkup and be sure to ask the dentist about this. I am assuming here that both already are getting regular checkups -- yep, the toddler too. If they have not ever seen a dentist or only seen one when there was pain or a problem, please, please take them now and set up a regular cleaning schedule every six months (the dentist may want to do it more often for a while if they have not had cleanings previously). If you do already have an ongoing cleaning schedule with a dentist, I'd ask the dentist what could cause this. Bad breath can be a sign of serious gum disease!

Also consider seeing the pediatrician if it continues despite cleanings and changes to brushing and/or diet. Very bad breath that does not go away or respond to cleanings can be a sign of many different diseases and conditions including diabetes.

Are they hydrated enough? A leading cause of bad breath is dry mouth and when it is really cold and the heat is running non-stop, the air is drier and everyone needs more fluids. Water is best.

Non-food caused bad breath when oral hygiene is good indicates a medical cause. It could be any of several things, from minor to complicated, so this warrants a trip to the doctor.

in addition to all the great advice below- are they drinking a lot of water? When my 6yo starts skipping the water and doing more hot chocolate or milk he get horrible breath.
also are any thumb suckers or paci users? That can add to some horrible stenches in the mouth.

If they aren't flossing, floss