Diagnosis for Bad Breath – The Simple and Complicated
February 20, 2009 by admin
Filed under Bad Breath
We have always known that bad breath is indeed a serious hygienic problem. Halitosis, its medical term, is very hard to diagnose for someone. This is primarily because of habituation. We can detect bad breath in other individuals but we can’t detect it within ourselves.
Proper diagnosis is very essential in finding treatment for bad breath. Luckily for us, there’s an easy way to see if we have the foul odor problem. In this article, we shall discuss some of the easy tips for self test and some much more complicated diagnostic procedures which are practiced by health professionals.
Let’s start with the much easier self diagnosis if we have bad breath. The first one doesn’t require much resource; you’ll have to lick the posterior part of your hand. After that, you let it dry for one to two minutes. Once done, you smell that part and then you can tell if you need a cure for bad breath or you have fresh breath.
The second one won’t require anything also except for a dental floss. It’s basically the same concept as the first one. You need to put the dental floss in between your back teeth. After a while, try to smell the floss.
Another way to do a self examination may need the presence of a mirror. Stand by facing the mirror and with the use of a Kleenex, pull your tongue out. Try to pull your tongue as far as you can. If you recognize a whitish formation in the back of your tongue, then it may be possible that you have halitosis. The most straight forward way to check if you have this condition is to confide with someone you can trust. Like family members or close friends, ask for their opinion with regards to your breath. As much as possible, check your breath on different times daily. Your breath changes with different times of the day and night; this is due to the dryness of your mouth in a certain period.
Apparently if your home remedies for bad breath is not working, you may try to visit the dentist for professional advice on how to cure bad breath. Dental professionals have more advanced ways on diagnosing halitosis. They have different methods in achieving such results. The most commonly used is the Halimeter. This device is used to test and monitor your mouth for levels of sulfur deposits and emissions. It is very effective in gathering information regarding the levels of VSC-producing bacteria.
Another diagnostic tool used by dental professionals to determine halitosis is gas chromatography. These portable machines are designed to measure digitally certain molecular levels of the three major VSC (volatile sulfur compounds) in a small sample of breath air. This produces visual results in graph form and is very accurate. Other diagnostic exams are BANA and β-galactosidase tests, which are focused on the saliva samples.
These diagnostic procedures are very important factors in finding ways to cure bad breath. The earlier you determine your status on halitosis, the better it would be for the treatment. So, whatever you’re comfortable with…always put in mind that dental status is very important.
