Bad breathe is a major turn off not only does it exclude you from great conversations but it can also affect your social and love life. Bad breath can cause low self esteem. People do not want to be around a person with bad breath, although this is harsh, it is quite understandable.  Scientifically bad breath is called halitosis and it is caused by a bacterium that lives in the back of the mouth or on the back of the tongue.  The bacterium is often a result of medical or dental conditions such as sinus and tonsolar infections, menstruation, tooth decay, xerostomia (a dry mouth condition) and certain foods. But do not fret, this condition is treatable and one should not be brought down by it. First you need to establish if you have this problem.

Here is our self test for bad breath:

1. Breathe into your hands.  You need to cup your hands and breathe into them.  The smell should let you know how fresh your breath is.

2. Do a saliva check. The odor of your saliva is most likely the scent of your breath. Ideally, the smell of your saliva has to be odorless to pass this test. To check the smell of your saliva, lick your wrist a little; wait a few seconds before smelling it. If it is odorless then you have passed but if not, you need to book an appointment with a dentist.

1. You need to brush your teeth and tongue regulary
2. You must drink a lot of water! When saliva production diminishes, you need to keep the mouth wet with water. Experts advice drinking eight glasses of water a day for basic metabolic functions, keeps the mouth moist that way keeping the bacteria in the mouth under control.
3. You need to keep away from cigarettes
4. You can use mouth wash such as Listerine
5. In those cases where hunger odor is present, the way of correcting the problem is simple; just have a bite to eat!

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