Ever Wondered why People Keep Offering you Mints and Breath Strips?

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, exhaling into it then smelling. All you are in effect doing is smelling your hand. That is because people are genetically wired in a way that makes it impossible to smell your own breath - it is a process referred to as Acclimation. Acclimation is obligatory, because without this feature, our sense of smell would be permanently muffled by our own odors and scents.

There are plenty of ways to check your breath, though, and many of them can be performed 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 gauge 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. The bacteria in our mouths serve a purpose - they break proteins that are found especially in the foods we eat, but also in mucous, blood and decaying oral tissue. But for some people, the bacteria reacts 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 methods for testing your breath at home. They are quite ingenuous 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.

The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to determine whether or not you have bad breath is to ask someone you absolutely trust. Tell them that you want a 100% candid answer, and get them to check your breath at sporadic times of the day, because there will be some fluctuations.

Next is the cotton gauze test. Take a piece of cotton gauze and wipe the top of your tongue with it. Then you simply smell the gauze. If you sense an odor then you're more probable a bad breath sufferer. And, if you notice a yellow/brown marking on the gauze, you have clearly 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 halitosis. The explanation for this is simple. When you lick the back of your hand, the sulfides travel from your tongue to your hand.

Dental floss is another cheap and easy way to check for 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 stamp out the smell too. That is, floss your teeth, paying thorough 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 attractive, and you will also get a quick acceptance of the fact that if you keep on flossing you might just get rid of the halitosis.

The humble tongue-coloration test doesn't really 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 probable that you have a build-up of sulfides and as a result you'll have halitosis.

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 take into account the fact that these methods in no way compare to the effect 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 'facade' 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 be occupied with longer conversations with you.

There are many different methods that can be taken when trying to treat bad breath. Simple excersises such as brushing your teeth and tongue, regular visits to the dentist, chewing sugarless gum and avoiding alcohol and cigarettes are advised when trying to find a treat bad breath. Please visit http://www.badbreath-treatment.info for more useful information.