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Bad breath is a serious social disease that in most cases can be fixed with some simple procedures that will annihilate it quickly. The first thing that must be done is to ascertain the source of the bad breath problem.

Here is a list of Bad Breath causes or symptoms:

' People back away or turn their heads
' People wrinkle their nose or frown when you speak
' You clear your throat a lot because of thick saliva
' Your physician ignores the problem
' Your tongue wears a white coat
' You are offered breath lozenges, mints and gum a lot
' Mucus, post-nasal drip, or allergies
' Tonsils have white round circular blobs on them
' Flossing and brushing fail to remove bad breath
' Bad taste linger after mouthwash, milk, coffee, or beer
' Low self-esteem and confidence
' Tongue scraping not effective

Many people try to self-test to see if they have bad breath by cupping their hand and blowing their breath into it. Unfortunately, this does not work because of a human process called acclimation which allows us to smell other things but not ourselves

Checking to see if you have bad breath can be done in several ways:

1. The Halimeter which measure the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in your mouth. This machine measures your breath scientifically. If the reading is above 75 ppb (parts per billion) your bad breath could be smelled if a person sat next to you. A high reading on the Halimeter could also be an indication of a more serious medical problem like gum disease.

2. Take a piece of cotton gauze and wipe the top surface of your tongue. Smell the gauze and if it stinks you have bad breath. Check for yellow stains on the gauze also, which would indicate the presence of VSCs.

3. The next method is sort of messy. You lick the back of your hand with your tongue. Let it dry for about 10 seconds and then take a sniff. If you notice a bad odor, you probably have bad breath and the VSCs have been transferred from your tongue to the back of your hand.

4. The floss method. Using a piece of floss, run it through your back teeth and then smell the floss.

5. The mirror method. Stick out your tongue as far as it will go and check the back of your tongue. If it's wearing a white coat, it could mean you have bad breath.

6. And, of course, you can notice the reactions of people who you interact with at home and the workplace.

7. Ask someone. Someone you trust who is frank and will tell you the truth. They need to check your breath several times a day because the intensity of bad breath varies depending on the time of day.

If you find that particular foods change taste from what you would normally expect, that is an indication that VSCs are present. It may happen right after using mouthwash with an alcohol base, drinking alcoholic beverages, eating dairy foods, or products containing sugar.

If you get a positive reaction from any of the above tests, you may want to check in with your health care professional to make sure that there is not a serious medical problem. Some bad breath problems are precursors to more serious medical conditions.