Ever Wondered Why People Keep Offering you Mints and Breath Strips?
You might have really bad breath (also known as Halitosis) and not even know it. And believe it or not, it is not possible to smell your breath by cupping your hand, breathing into it then smelling. All you are really doing is smelling your hand. This is because humans are wired in a way that makes it impossible to smell your own breath - it is a process referred to as Acclimation. Acclimation is mandatory, because without this hallmark, our sense of smell would be permanently shrouded by our own odors and scents.
You can smell your breath in a whole different number of ways, and most can be performed at home. The most absolute approach of halitosis checking is one that can't be done at home. You will need to visit a clinic that features in bad breath and oral problems and they will use a Halimeter to estimate the level of sulfides that live in your mouth.
Why Sulfides? Sulfides are questionably the root cause of bad breath. Everyone has the same bacteria in their mouth, and the bacteria that we have in our mouths need to be there. There is a lot of bacteria in our mouths and the bacteria actually perform the very important job of breaking down proteins in foods we eat, as well as in decaying oral tissue. But for some people, the bacteria behaves in a different way with these proteins and the resulting factor is known as "volatile sulfur compounds" (VSC). These sulfur compounds, also known as Sulfides, produce the odor.
Following are a number of practices for examining your breath at home. They are quite simple and in no way are they as effective as using the Halimeter, but they can give you a very good idea on just how bad your breath is.
If you ask someone you trust to check your breath, you will know very quickly and accurately if your breath is bad. Tell them that you want a 100% forthright answer, and get them to check your breath at sporadic times of the day, because there will be some changes.
Simply wiping a piece of cotton gauze on your tongue and then inspecting it for coloration and smell is also a very simple and effective test for bad breath. If you sense an odor then you're more foreseeable a bad breath sufferer. And, if you notice a yellow/brown decoloration on the gauze, you have certainly got a heightened level of sulfides and are very likely to have extreme bad breath.
The next method involve licking the back of your hand to check for bad breath, so you might want to make sure too many people aren't watching - they might think you're crazy. The process is simple - just lick the back of your hand and let it dry for 10-15 seconds - then smell it. If there is an odor present, then you've got bad breath. The justification for this is simple. When you lick the back of your hand, the sulfides travel from your tongue to your hand.
Using dental floss or tape can tell you in a matter of seconds if you have bad breath. In fact, it not only gives you an indication of whether your breath stinks, but it can give you a clear master plan on how to extinguish the smell too. That is, floss your teeth, paying careful attention to the rear teeth, then smell the floss - if you pull out chunks of food and they smell, then you'll know right away that your breath won't be too radiant, and you will also get a quick appreciation of the fact that if you keep on flossing you might just get rid of the bad breath.
The humble tongue-coloration test doesn't specifically involve smelling anything, but it can give some very good insight into your halitosis problem. All you need to do is stand in front of a mirror and poke your tongue out as far as you comfortably can. What you are looking for is if there is any coloration, like white or yellow/brown, and if there is, then it is conceivable that you have a build-up of sulfides and as a result you'll have bad breath.
In summary, there are countless methods for testing yourself for bad breath without visiting a doctor or breath clinic. But you do need to hold in mind the fact that these methods in no way compare to the performance of using a specialized tool like a Halimeter. In addition, Gum, Breath mints, breath strips and mouthwash are NOT the answer. They are just part of a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry which provides a very short 'facade' for the real cause. The real answer to solving the bad breath problem is to minimize the concentration of sulfides that exist in your mouth. Do this and people will stop offering you mints and breath strips, and they will hopefully be occupied with longer conversations with you.
About the Author
One of the few bad breath remedies that has been shown to work over the long term are those containing the active ingredient Oxyd-VIII, invented by Dr. Harold Katz and used in TheraBreath products. This bad breath remedy is very popular and effective. Visit http://www.badbreath-halitosis.info for more information.
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