It is Impossible to Exhale into Your Hand and Smell Your Own Breath

Your breath could really smell bad and chances are you won't even know. And believe it or not, it is impossible to smell your breath by cupping your hand, breathing into it then smelling. All you are in effect doing is smelling your hand. That's because people are genetically wired 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 attribute, our sense of smell would be permanently obscured by our own odors and scents.

There are numerous ways in which you can go about smelling your own breath, and most can be done at home. The most accurate technique of halitosis checking is one that can't be done at home. You will need to visit a clinic that features in halitosis and oral problems and they will use a Halimeter to appraise 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. These bacteria assist humans in digestion by breaking down proteins found in specific foods, mucous or phlegm, blood, and in diseased or "broken-down" oral tissue. But for some people, the bacteria behaves in a different way 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 approaches for investigating your breath at home. They are quite humble 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.

Asking someone you absolutely trust is by far the quickest and easiest method to check your breath. Tell them that you want a 100% bona fide answer, and get them to check your breath at different times of the day, because there will be some fluctuations.

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 predictable a halitosis sufferer. And, if you notice a yellow/brown blemish on the gauze, you have clearly 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 answer 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 specific 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 blissful, 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 fundamental tongue-coloration test doesn't literally 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 possible that you have a build-up of sulfides and as a result you'll have bad breath.

As you can see, there are numerous ways to check for bad breath without paying a visit to a bad breath clinic. But you do need to take note of the fact that these practices in no way compare to the effectiveness of using a specialized tool like a Halimeter. Additionally, 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 'cover up' 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 likely conduct longer conversations with you.

Article Source: http://www.thehealthmanual.com

Don't be offended when your partner says you need to find a bad breath cure. Do something about it! If you want to cure bad breath then visit www.badbreath-halitosis.info where you will find in depth articles and useful tip and tricks on beating bad breath.

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