Ways to test for bad breath.
Click here!
Having bad breath doesn't have to be an insurmountable problem. With just a little understanding of its fundamental cause and associated risk factors, developing an effective plan for its treatment can be relatively simple.
Our pages first describe how to test yourself for bad breath (or, for some people, denture breath). We then discuss various cures.
Most notably this involves effective tongue cleaning. But it can also involve the use of mouthwashes, mints or lozenges or just simple common-sense prevention tips.
FYI - Having bad breath and halitosis are the same thing. Halitosis is derived from the Latin word "halitus," which means breath, and the Greek suffix "osis," which means condition.
Ways to test for halitosis. -
No doubt each of us has, at some point, unknowingly had bad breath, only to be embarrassed by other's reactions to it.
Accurate self evaluation can be difficult.
For any one person, the exact status of their own breath can be difficult to determine. Here's why:
- Our mouth is connected to our nose by way of an opening in the region of our soft palate. (See our illustration.)
- Our nose will tend to ignore background odors, like those smells coming from our mouth via this pathway.
That means it's easy for a person to have bad breath and not know it.
A) Get someone else's opinion.
If our nose can't reliably help us judge the quality of our own breath, how can a person tell if they have a problem? One solution involves asking the opinion of someone else.
Possibly your spouse or significant other can clue you in. Or, if you don't have anyone you feel comfortable with, ask your dentist or hygienist at your next appointment. After all, evaluating your oral status is part of their job.
If you find even that too personal, maybe just ask a kid. As we all know, sometimes the least inhibited and most honest answers come from children.
B) Self-testing.
There are ways to objectively smell your own breath but you have to use a slightly indirect method to do it. Here's how.
a) Step #1.
- Lick your wrist.
- Wait about five seconds or so while it dries a little.
- Smell it.
We'll, what do you think?
For better or worse, that's the way you smell. Or, more precisely, that's the way the tip end of your tongue smells (your tongue's "anterior" portion).
So, how was it? Did you pass the first test?
b) Step #2.
Now try this second experiment. It will check the odor coming from the back portion of your tongue (your tongue's "posterior" region).
- Take a spoon, turn it upside down, and use it to scrape the very, very back portion of your tongue. (Don't be surprised if you find you have an active gag reflex.)
- Now, take a look at the gunk you've scrapped off. It's usually a thick whitish (or even brown) goo.
- Go ahead and take a whiff of it.
Not so bad? Pretty nasty? This smell, as opposed to the sampling from the anterior portion of your tongue, is probably the way your breath smells to other people.
So, now you know. The fundamental cause of bad breath is...
As you've just discovered from these experiments, for most people their fundamental cause of breath odors is the whitish coating that covers the surface of the posterior portion of their tongue. (More accurately, it's the bacteria that live in this coating.)
Read on or skip ahead ...
The remainder of this page describes ways dentists and researchers test for halitosis. If you prefer, continue on to our next page that discusses the actual underlying cause of bad breath.
C) How dental researchers test for halitosis.
( Related page: Bad breath classifications. )
Before a study can evaluate the effectiveness of a cure, it must have a way to test for and quantify its subjects' oral odors. Here are some of the ways this is done.
a) Gas chromatography.
A gas chromatograph is a scientific apparatus that can identify and precisely measure compounds found in tested samples. The use of one of these machines for breath testing is considered to be the gold standard.
While being the most precise method, the use of gas chromatograpy isn't widely used in scientific studies. That's because these machines are relatively expensive, not portable, require special training to operate and require a significant amount of time to make each measurement. It's unlikely that your dentist has one.
b) Halimeters.
A halimeter is a specialized unit that's been specifically designed for breath testing. These machines (first introduced in 1991) measure for levels of sulfide gases. Sulfides, such as hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan (collectively referred to as volatile sulfur compounds or "VSC's"), are known to be causative agents of halitosis.
As a drawback, Halimeters only tests for sulfides as a class and not as individual compounds. (A gas chromatograph provides a much more precise measurement.) Additionally, ethanol (alcohol) and essential oils, both of which are frequently found in mouthwash, can interfere with measurements.
As advantages, a Halimeter requires no special training to use, is portable, measurements can be made quickly and is comparatively inexpensive. Dentist who take a special interest in treating halitosis often have one in their office.
c) The BANA test.
Some of the bacteria that cause periodontal disease (gum disease) produce smelly waste products that also cause bad breath. The BANA test is a simple way a dentist can check for the presence of these bacteria (by testing a sample of their patient's saliva).
The bacteria in question produce an enzyme that degrades the compound benzoyl-D, L-arginine-naphthylamide (abbreviated BANA). When this reaction occurs, it produces a color change in the BANA testing medium.
When measuring low levels of sulfur compounds, this method provides better selectivity and sensitivity than a Halimeter.
d) Organoleptic testing.
This is just a fancy way of saying the tester is using their nose to make a judgment. Historically, organoleptic testing has often been used for studies. That's because noses are readily available, inexpensive to "obtain and operate," and to their credit, they can detect up to 10,000 different smells.
Of course, one obvious problem associated with this method is that it's not totally objective (like a machine is). Another is that certain factors may influence the tester's judgment.
Studies have shown that hunger, head position, degree of attentiveness and level of expectation may influence a judge's evaluation. Also, the subject's consumption of coffee, tea or juice, or the use of tobacco products or scented cosmetics can influence an evaluation too.
Additionally, as mentioned above, when repeatedly exposed to a bad odor a person's sense of smell tends to acclimate to it and therefore loses much of its sensitivity. That means that breath that seems exceedingly objectionable at the beginning of testing may seem quite less so as the evaluation continues.
