Why do People Keep Offering you Mints? Could it be that your Breath Stinks?

Your breath could really smell bad and chances are you won't even know. And believe it or not, it is not possible to smell your breath by cupping your hand, expelling into it then smelling. All you are truly doing is smelling your hand. This is because humans are genetically structured in a way that makes it impossible to smell your own breath - it is a function referred to as Acclimation. Acclimation is necessary, because without this hallmark, our sense of smell would be permanently sheathed 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 detailed system of bad breath checking is one that can't be done at home. You will need to visit a clinic that specializes in bad breath and oral problems and they will use a Halimeter to measure the level of sulfides that have place in your mouth.

Why Sulfides? Sulfides are arguably 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 differently with these proteins and the culminating factor is known as "volatile sulfur compounds" (VSC). These sulfur compounds, also known as Sulfides, produce the odor.

Following are a number of techniques for investigating your breath at home. They are quite ordinary and in no way are they as compelling 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% honest answer, and get them to check your breath at variable times of the day, because there will be some changes.

The cotton gauze test involves you taking a piece of clean cotton gauze, wiping the top of your tongue with it, then checking it for smell and color. If you sense an odor then you're more likely a halitosis sufferer. And, if you notice a yellow/brown discoloration on the gauze, you have certainly got a heightened level of sulfides and are very likely to have extreme halitosis.

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 halitosis. The clarification for this is simple. When you lick the back of your hand, the sulfides travel from your tongue to your hand.

Believe it or not, but dental floss can be a very simple method for checking on bad breath. In fact, it not only gives you an indication of whether your breath smells, but it can give you a clear plan on how to shake off the smell too. That is, floss your teeth, paying selective 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 pleasant, and you will also get a quick comprehension of the fact that if you keep on flossing you might just get rid of the halitosis.

The simple tongue-coloration test doesn't actually involve smelling anything, but it can give some very good insight into your bad breath 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 foreseeable that you have a build-up of sulfides and as a result you'll have bad breath.

The abovementioned examples are testament to the fact that there is more than one method you can use to test for bad breath. But you do need to keep in sight the fact that these methods in no way compare to the effectiveness 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 'camouflage' for the real cause. The real answer to solving the halitosis 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 very likely carry on longer conversations with you.

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When experiencing bad breath for a long duration of time, it is commonley known as chronic halitosis. Causes of bad breath are a result of anaerobic sulfur-producing bacteria in the mouth. Visit www.badbreath-halitosis.info for more information.

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