You Simply Cannot Breathe into your Hand and get a True Indication of Whether your Breath Stinks

Most people suffer from bad breath at some stage and most don't even know they have it. And whether you believe it or not, it is not possible to smell your breath by cupping your hand, expelling into it then smelling. All you are clearly doing is smelling your hand. That is because humans are genetically structured in a way that makes it impossible to smell your own breath - it is a process referred to as Acclimation. Acclimation is compulsory, because without this feature, our sense of smell would be permanently muffled by our own odors and scents.

You can smell your breath in a whole different number of ways, and most can be performed at home. The most absolute methodology of halitosis checking is one that can't be done at home. You will need to visit a clinic that specializes in halitosis and oral problems and they will use a Halimeter to appraise the level of sulfides that dwell 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 reacts in a different way with these proteins and the resultant factor is known as "volatile sulfur compounds" (VSC). These sulfur compounds, also known as Sulfides, produce the odor.

Following are a number of practices for investigating your breath at home. They are quite ordinary 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.

If you ask someone you trust to check your breath, you will know very quickly and accurately if your breath is bad.  Tell them that you want a 100% dependable answer, and get them to check your breath at variable times of the day, because there will be some changes.

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 halitosis sufferer. And, if you notice a yellow/brown discoloration 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 bad breath. The justification 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 smells, but it can give you a clear formula on how to extinguish the smell too. That is, floss your teeth, paying particular 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 desirable, and you will also get a quick acceptance of the fact that if you keep on flossing you might just get rid of the bad breath.
 
The easy tongue-coloration test doesn't actually 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 extend 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 likely that you have a build-up of sulfides and as a result you'll have bad breath.

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 account of the fact that these techniques in no way compare to the effect of using a specialized tool like a Halimeter. Furthermore, 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 very likely conduct longer conversations with you.