When I was brushing my teeth these white balls came out of my throat. They smelled weird too. What are they?

Question

I thought they were like puss or something, but I'm no doctor.

Answer 1

Those are just phlegm that hardened. They tend to fill up the holes at the back of your throat and feel like popcorn kernels are stuck in them. But those are just foul-smelling hard phlegm and they happen to be a pain to dig out. They don't hurt and does not necessarily mean you have an infection.

What I do is gargle with Listerine for about 30 seconds. Sometimes I'd be able to cough them out. If that doesn't work and I still get bothered by them, I shine a flashlight done my throat and try to pry it loose with my Waterpik tougue cleaner (looks like a small spoon).

Answer 2

A tiny spherical ball, white (or off white) to light yellow shade color and smells FUNNY!
If I got it right then:

They are food particles, hidden between ur : teeth, cheek & gums, tongue & gums, areas in ur upper Pharynx (where the respiratory and digestive passages meet, or simply, ur throat),…. etc, which comes out when u brush ur teeth.
And they smell funny coz they have been hidden for long being a good meal of bacteria!! And the food fermentation process, done by the bacteria causes the funny odor.

There is nothing to worry, but practice the following:

Drink water after eating- the flow of water down ur throat will minimize the amount of hidden food particles.

Gargle after each meal, that will help again in minimizing the amount of hidden food particles in ur upper area of ur throat.
If u would like to use a mouth gargle instead of water, then once or twice a day maximum, coz the excess of it may affect ur mouth pH. And it is important to maintain a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, for amylase enzyme activity.
Brush ur teeth after each meal, twice a day (At least) to 4 times a day (advisable).
After brushing ur teeth, pass ur tooth brush once or twice on ur tongue (gently), try to reach the back of ur tongue, but don’t go so deep coz u may gag.

Floss ur teeth more often, once in morning time and b4 going to bed, 3 times (advisable) as the 3rd will be at the middle of the day.

Try to have a SUGAR FREE gum once or twice a day as it will remove as much hidden food particles from and between the teeth, but don’t chew the same piece of gum for hours (then it will be an unhealthy practice), and get the Minty ones to keep ur mouth smelling fresh and to override any smell food consumed earlier.

And that will be the END of the nasty smelling small balls! ;)

Answer 3

Do you have tonsils? If so then your tonsils are scarred from past illnesses and the tonsils get holes in them called Crypts. The crypts fill with food and "stuff" and decay. They can be cleaned out with water spray or whatever - but the little nodules of decayed food do have a horrible odor.

A waterpick and brushing and rinsing after eating anything can help.

Answer 4

Gargle Balls

Answer 5

They are called tonsilloliths or tonsil stones and are cause by a build up of bacteria and debris in the crevasses of you tonsils. Some people get them and some don't. There are a few people that get chronic tonsilitis from it and require some sort of treatment but they are usually no big deal

Answer 6

Could be oral thrush see your Doc.

Oral thrush is a condition in which the fungus Candida albicans grows out of control. Like most healthy people, you probably have small amounts of the fungus in your mouth and digestive tract and on your skin. You can't see the fungus and normally won't know it's there — it usually doesn't cause problems because normal bacteria (flora) in your body keep its growth in check. But when this balance is disturbed — by medications or illness — Candida can grow out of control, leading to problems such as diaper rash and vaginal yeast infections as well as oral thrush.

Oral thrush causes creamy white lesions, usually on your tongue or inner cheeks. The lesions can be painful and may bleed slightly when you scrape them or brush your teeth. Sometimes oral thrush may spread to the roof of your mouth, your gums, tonsils or the back of your throat.

Although oral thrush can affect anyone, it occurs most often in babies and toddlers, older adults, and people whose immune systems have been compromised by illness or medications. Oral thrush is a minor problem for healthy children and adults, but for those with weakened immune systems, symptoms of oral thrush may be more severe, widespread and difficult to control.

Answer 7

I get them quite a bit. They hide in my tonsils and between the tonsils and the throat part. They smell like old people and even though they stink I was told they are harmless

Answer 8

I'm no doctor either, and I don't remember the name of those things but they are often a sign of sinus infections.
I have found that when they're small and few it usually clears up on its own. If it gets to be a lot of them then you may need to see a doctor.

Answer 9

They look a bit like cottage cheese curdles and are rather smelly, I think I have coughed one or two out in my time too. I have been told that they were calcium deposits, food particulates, tonsil stones, etc. I googled them and this is what I came up with.. check it out!

Answer 10

I like to call that stuff "throat cheese"... but the proper term is tonsiloliths. I can actually feel that stuff building up in my tonsils. Yum.