Do You Have Bad Breath?

Four Tests You Can Do At Home to Find out NOW!

Oddly enough, bad breath – also called "halitosis" – is an affliction you can have and not even know it. Cupping your hands in your mouth and sniffing the air that comes out won't tell you if your breath is bad; the offending odor comes from the back of the mouth and is only forced out when you speak.

Here are a few methods to try that might reveal unpleasant breath odor.

• Pull your tongue forward with one hand, and with the other, wipe the back of your tongue for about 15 seconds with a clean cotton ball. Wait a few minutes and sniff the cotton ball; if it smells bad, this could mean you have bad breath.
• Floss a few of your back teeth with a piece of unflavored, unwaxed dental floss. Again, wait a few minutes and then sniff the floss. It's likely that this is what your breath smells like.
• Do you frequently have a bad taste in your mouth? If you do, that's a clue that you might have bad breath.
• Ask for a truthful answer from a trusted friend or family member. Yes, the truth can be embarassing, but knowledge is power! Now you can do something about it!

Unfortunately, none of these methods are foolproof. A visit to the dentist is the only way to find out definitively whether or not your breath has an offensive odor. Assessing the health of your gums, testing saliva levels, and even measuring the levels of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC's) in your mouth with a device called a "halimeter" are some of the methods your dentist might use to assess your breath.

"If a person has persistent bad breath to the point it's disturbing themselves and other people, they should see a doctor or dentist," said Beatrice Gandara, research assistant professor at the University of Washington Oral Medicine Clinic. Chronic bad breath is frequently a sign of periodontal disease, which can lead to tooth loss; it's been linked to other health problems, as well. For these reasons, periodontal disease should never be ignored.

Where Does Bad Breath Come From, Anyway?

Even the cleanest mouth hosts millions of bacteria that have the potential to decompose food particles left in the mouth; it's this decomposition that's usually responsible for bad breath.

Up to 80-90 percent of bad breath originates in the mouth. Here are some conditions that might cause bad breath:

• Poor dental hygiene is the primary cause of bad breath. If you don't brush and floss regularly, you are opening the door to gum disease. Gum disease allows bacteria to hide under plaque on teeth, or in the deepened pockets between the tooth and gum. These areas are difficult to clean, and create a constant supply of odorous sulfur gasses.
• Some foods are notorious for causing bad breath . – garlic, raw onions, cabbage, eggs and broccoli, for example. These foods contain sulfur compounds, which move into the bloodstream after they are eaten. The sulfur is then carried into the lungs and is expelled when we talk or exhale. It's the sulfur that causes the food-related bad breath.