This may sound like a “no brainer” because you may think that bad breath is obvious to the person who has bad breath. That is not necessarily the case.

Often times, the person with halitosis is the LAST one to know there is a problem. You may have cupped your hands and blown into them to try and determine if your breath smells, but that does not work because your body will naturally acclimatize to its own odor. This is necessary so that the sensory system will recognize odors that are external to the body.

If this is the case, then you need to look at external symptoms:

• Do you experience nasal drip?


• Do you have allergies?


• Do you have a chronic dry mouth?


• Do you experience a sour taste in your mouth?


• Do you have a coating on your tongue?


• Do your friends offer you gum or breath mints?


• Do strangers turn their heads away when you speak?

These may sound like very basic questions, but if you answered yes to any of them there is a good chance that you have a problem with bad breath. If you answered any of them with “I don’t know,” you need to become proactive and observe if any of the conditions apply to your situation.