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| Halitosis and bad breath |
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What is halitosis?
Halitosis is the scientific (medical) name for “bad breath”. It are the odours that we usually experience as unpleasant and that are spread by the mouth. These odours are a group of volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), such as hydrogen sulphide and methyl mercaptane (smell of rotting eggs).
The odours spread by the mouth can be objectively and scientifically measured. The concentration of sulphide molecules can be established, amongst others, by means of adapted measuring equipment. Technically, the limit between fresh and bad odours is between 75 ppb (parts per billion).
Hence, people who spread a bad odour from the mouth throughout the day (which is very perceptible by their surrounding) suffer from “halitosis” or "chronic halitosis".
Scientific studies proved that about 30% of the population suffers from halitosis.
But you have a fresh breath if your taste is fresh, isn’t it? Sorry, but no. You can have a great minty taste in your mouth, but the odour being sensed by the person next to you at work can be a disagreeable sulphur odour. Smelling and taste are two different senses, and so are seeing and hearing.
It is impossible to smell your own breath by holding your hands as a cup in front of your mouth and smell (the only thing you will smell is the odour of your hand). The human body is "designed” in such a way that it is impossible to perceive one's own odour in this way. It is a biological process, acclimatization, which is necessary to smell other things in nature than ourselves. However, there are symptoms that point to “halitosis” (bad breath) (see further).
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