Vigorously brush the back of your tongue with a toothbrush for 10 seconds. Wait two minutes and sniff the brush. Smell bad? This could mean you have bad breath.

Run a piece of unflavored, unwaxed dental floss between several of your back teeth. Wait 2 minutes before you sniff the floss. It is likely that this is what your breath smells like.

Take an uncolored wooden toothpick and work it between your back teeth and lower front teeth. If the toothpick promotes bleeding, consider that rotten tissue cells and bacteria byproducts that consume those dead cells are contributing to your mouth's air space.

Ask a trusted buddy to give you a truthful answer about your breath. Stand close to your confidant, hold out your arm, and ask: "Does my sleeve smell bad to you?…What about my breath?"

Today, it is estimated that over $500 million is spent every year on products to cover it up! While many of us may be aware of someone with chronic, or constant, halitosis, 90% of us have periodic Bad Breath around mealtime or in the morning.

…Only if you care about keeping your friends, your teeth, and your good health! Chronic halitosis is a sign that something about you is out of balance. Even though Bad Breath is most often caused by oral problems, it can be a symptom of a medical disorder. In addition to your medical and dental health, however, are the social implications. If you are one of the enlightened few who NEVER judges another human by his or her body odor, ask yourself if you want your own breath to be offensive to others around you, especially friends and loved ones whose feelings are important to you. Like it or not, Bad Breath is socially unacceptable in our hygiene-conscious culture.

Halitosis is not a disease, but in most cases it is a sign or symptom of a medical/dental imbalance. Exceptions include the indigestion of certain food substances and drugs.

References in scientific literature, without exception, report that 85-90% of all cases of halitosis are related to disorders of the oral cavity, not the nose or stomach.

As medical and dental literature substantiates, Bad Breath of non-oral origin is relatively rare. The most common non-oral cause is probably related to sinus and other nasal related problems. Beyond the respiratory disorders, chronic halitosis of medical origin can be related to serious and even fatal diseases, including uncontrolled diabetes, various cancers, and liver failure.

Common opinion often maintains that halitosis could originate directly from stomach contents. This cannot be true because the throat is in a normal closed position, and odors or gases cannot escape except momentarily when belching or vomiting. Therefore, the "bad smell from the stomach" is gone as soon as the momentary blast of air has dissipated. So what about garlic and onions? In the digestive system these products break down and some of the components are able to enter the breath which exits the lungs. Other foods including radishes, cabbage, and cauliflower can have this effect. Bad Breath resulting from these foods and spices is almost never chronic except possibly in individuals who regularly take garlic supplements. People "on a diet" are prone to halitosis. Byproducts of unused pancreatic juices and other digestive enzymes cause a detectable "hunger odor". Dieters also burn stored fat which gives off acetone. These odors enter the breath via the lungs.

Investigators agree that as much as 90% of the causes of Bad Breath originate from the oral cavity. Their research has shown that volatile sulfur-containing compounds, known as VSC's, are primarily responsible for the odor we call "bad breath". These compounds are the byproducts of bacterial activity and the breakdown of tissue cells and saliva. Not surprisingly, body odor associated with perspiration involves similar bacterial activity on our skin! Put simply, a higher than normal concentration of bacteria and dead tissue in the mouth causes almost all cases of Bad Breath.

Bacteria thrive in unclean environments. In unclean mouths, excessive bacteria thrive between the teeth and inflamed or infected gums, in tooth decay, around and under rough or leaky fillings, in abscesses, on hairy-stained tongues, and every place food and plaque lie undisturbed. Someone bothered with Bad Breath all of the time must constantly have an unclean mouth, always allowing at least one, but perhaps several, of these conditions to exist.

We have a hard time detecting our own Bad Breath. "Adaptation" is a phenomenon related to our senses of taste and smell. A good example of "adaptation" is a visit to the zoo where so many unusual odors surprise us initially, but then go unnoticed by us as we adjust and get used to them. Individuals with Bad Breath got used to the smell a long time ago! People around us may smell our Bad Breath but they then, too, adapt and do not notice it as their own "protection" comes into play. There are several methods by which to detect one's own Bad Breath. One test is to run unflavored dental floss (the thicker, the better) between several upper and lower teeth, moving it around a few seconds in each place. Wait a moment for your "adaptation" to drop slightly, them smell the floss. Another way is to firmly rub the back of the tongue several times with a piece of gauze, wait, then smell the gauze. A foul smell indicates halitosis. Naturally, you can also ask our staff if you have Bad Breath, or anyone else whom you feel will give you a straightforward opinion.

One important function of our saliva is to balance the acid level of the mouth to make it an unfriendly place for bacteria. When saliva cannot do this, when the acid level gets weak or disappears, the halitosis-causing bacteria thrive. When we sleep, our saliva flow decreases, bacteria thrive, and VSC's build up. High VSC's constitute Bad Breath.

Almost all mouthwashes available today simply mask Bad Breath by perfuming it, and the mask quickly fades away. Some mouthwashes perfume the breath and attempt to fight the odor by lowering the concentration of bacteria with alcohol. A common household disinfectant, alcohol may readily kill germs but its major drawback is that it has a drying effect on the mouth tissues. Skin cells die faster in dry mouths, and the breakdown of skin cells creates VSC's. As mentioned, a dry mouth means reduced saliva flow which fosters halitosis,and just as during sleep, bacteria thrive. Bacteria hiding in old restorations and between the teeth in gingival pockets are not affected by the alcohol and quickly multiply, thereby replenishing the bacteria killed by the alcohol. Constant rinsing with peroxide-based rinses alters the delicate balance of the mouth's microflora and does not help halitosis beyond a temporary masking effect. Some mouth rinses contain chlorine dioxide which destroys the VSC's at the molecular level. These rinses work at the source and destroy odor, not just cover it up. Most dental offices provide information on these special mouth rinses.

Tobacco contributes to Bad Breath in several ways. Primarily, the accumulation of tar, nicotine, and other smoking byproducts is responsible for mouth odor. A lesser known reason for Bad Breath in smokers is the drying effect that tobacco has on the oral tissues. This drying effect increases cell exfoliation, and cell breakdown produces VSC's. Also, as mentioned previously, bacteria thrive in dry mouths. Practically unknown is that smoking encourages a hairy tongue condition which can trap food debris and tobacco byproducts creating a stockpile of odor causing substances.

Apparently women can add Bad Breath to the list of unfavorable issues associated with their menstrual cycle. Once a month, hormone fluctuations in a woman's body cause extra proteins to occur in their saliva. Anaerobic bacteria feast on these proteins and wildly multiply, releasing the VSC's that cause Bad Breath. Also, the rise in estrogen occurring at the start of menstruation triggers the shedding of the body's lining tissues, including those of the mouth. Again, oral bacteria undergo rapid growth as they consume the additional tissue cells.

Most fortunately, yes. Our understanding of the causes of halitosis allows us to predictably match solutions to one's particular situation.

Remove or at least control the conditions responsible for your problem, and it will go away. The first step is to unravel the mystery with the help of professionals. Share your concern with your dentist, and determine where the reservoirs of bacteria are in your mouth. Learn all of the ways you can manage those sites to achieve a healthy mouth.

Leave this information where they can find it to let them know someone cares.