Bad breath is not just an inconvenience, it can also mean that you are suffering from a dental or oral problem. Unfortunately, you are a bad judge of your own bad breath. Over time you get used to your breath and you may not even notice the smell. You need other techniques to detect how your breath smells, and the following tips may be helpful.
Ask Someone You Trust
One of the easiest ways to tell if your breath smells is to ask someone you trust. A friend or loved one can smell your breath and give you feedback.
Analyze Your Symptoms and Condition
Analyzing your symptoms may not give you a definitive answer about bad breath. However, the analysis will help you know your odds of having the condition once. For example, you should suspect bad breath in the following situations;
.If you have chronic dry mouth
.If you have a chronic dental disease such as gum disease
.If you have a white coating on your tongue
Test Yourself
Self-diagnosis is another easy way to diagnose bad breath. Below are some tests you can do on your own.
Wrist Test
Lick your wrist, wait a few seconds, and smell the area you licked. The result is the smell of your tongue, which will tell you the overall smell of your mouth.
Gauze Test
Use a small piece of medical gauze to wipe your tongue. Smell the gauze to find out what your tongue smells like.
Air Test
Exhale several times into an airtight bag. Odor refers to the smell of your breath and lets you know if your bad breath needs medical attention.
Floss Test
Use unflavored floss to floss your gums and let the floss go under the gum line. Smell the floss to find out what the space between your teeth smells like.
Use a Test Kit
You can also use an over-the-counter test kit from a pharmacy. A good example is a halimeter test, which measures the level of volatile sulfur compounds in your mouth.
Consult Your Dentist
You can go to your dentist for a bad breath test. Below are some diagnostic methods your dentist may use.
Instrumental methods: The dentist may use a variety of instruments to measure the type and number of compounds in your breath. Typical methods include gas chromatography and the use of halimeters. The dentist may even combine the two methods.
Organoleptic methods: The dentist directly smells your breath and rates the odor on a scale. The dentist may use a straw or glass tube to take the odor directly from inside your mouth to determine if any dental problems are causing the odour.
Special test: For this test, the dentist cleans your tongue with cotton and analyzes its contents. Specifically, the analysis detects the enzymes that trigger bad breath from oral bacteria. Dentists also allow preventive treatment using a special test to predict the risk of periodontitis.
Contact Us
It is important that you know how your breath smells. Our dentists can tell you what your breath smells like at each consultation and address any possible dental concerns.
.What causes bad breath that does not go away?
Bad breath that doesn’t go away or a persistent bad taste in your mouth can be a warning sign of advanced gum disease, which is caused by a sticky, caries-causing bacteria called plaque. Garlic, onions, coffee… The list of breathtaking foods is long and what you eat and poor oral hygiene cause persistent bad breath.
.Does the bad breath go away in time?
Most bad breath is caused by the mouth and can be treated with improved dental hygiene. However, in some cases, bad breath is a sign of a more serious condition, such as diabetic ketoacidosis, kidney failure, or an infection. If your bad breath does not improve with home treatment, consult your doctor or dentist.
