What are Tonsils
The tonsils are areas of lymphoid tissue on either side of our throat. As with other organs of the lymphatic system, the tonsils act as part of the immune system to help protect against infection. They contain white blood cells and produce antibodies to fight infections that enter the mouth via food or air, keeping the infection in the throat rather than letting it spread to other parts of the body. Some scientists believe the tonsils' original function was to deal with certain types of infection such as worms or parasites which are not very common today.

Tonsillitis- Infection of Tonsils
The tonsils are at their largest and most prone to infection between the ages of three and six; from the age of eight they begin to shrink and are less likely to become infected. An infection of the tonsils is called tonsillitis. Tonsillitis will often, but not necessarily, cause a sore throat and fever. Symptoms may also include pain in the tonsil area and inability to swallow and/or painful swallowing. White spots may also appear on the tonsils. These white spots may be raised and they cannot be scraped off.

Who is likely to suffer from Tonsillitis
Children start to increase their resistance to infection as they get older so tonsillitis becomes increasingly rare as people get older. Also, the antibiotics produced today are excellent at fighting infection and reducing inflamed tonsils- making the need to remove them less common nowadays.

Tonsillectomy
Often, a person who has tonsillitis would likely to suffer from bad breath because of the offensive discharges. People who suffer from tonsillitis would usually opt for tonsillectomy- the surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed. Bad breath after tonsillectomy would usually disappear after the surgery. However, there are cases known where bad breath after tonsillectomy continues to occur even in spite of such treatment.

Bad Breath After Tonsillectomy Could Persist For Two Weeks After The Operation
If a person notices bad breath after tonsillectomy, it could be due to the fact that he or she has tonsillar plaques as well as tonsillar fluids which can cause very offensive bad breath. Tonsillectomy has been known to cause among other things, ear pain, fever as well as bad breath, which means that you should be forewarned that you could have bad breath after tonsillectomy though such condition may not be permanent, and in fact, will disappear after about two weeks.

What’s more, bad breath after tonsillectomy is known to occur because the back of the throat is still healing and so to improve your condition, you should consider gargling with mild salt water and take half teaspoon of table salt and mix it with eight ounces of warm water. As you are expected to suffer bad breath after tonsillectomy for about two to three weeks, you may want to get some relief by propping your head with pillows as well as take to an ice collar, and have your humidifier on at night, all of which should help reduce the dryness in your mouth and improve your breath.