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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Bad-breath busters

By Peggy O'Farrell
Gannett News Service

Greg Taylor • The Honolulu Advertiser
The scene is set: The candles are lit, the fire is roaring. You lean in gently for that first kiss — and encounter a stench that could stop a charging rhino in its tracks.

Maybe it's time to trade the split of champagne for a bottle of Listerine.

Luckily, there's a slew of remedies, from little melt-in-your-mouth strips to old standbys like chewing gum and mints to make sure your breath (or your date's) won't qualify as a weapon of mass destruction where your love life is concerned.

Breath strips

Breath strips like Listerine PocketPaks are the newest weapon in the $3.7 billion fight against halitosis. Listerine, probably tired of seeing its venerable but pucker-producing mouthwash being outsold by candied hybrids such as Altoids, introduced its breath strips in 2002.

The thin strips look like bits of cellophane. They melt in your mouth and deliver a temporary blast of breath-freshening mint, cinnamon, menthol and other scents.

For now at least, the strip rules among breath fresheners, says Don Montuori, editor at Packaged Facts, which publishes syndicated market research.

"They're fun. They're weird," Montuori says. "You see it and think, why would I put a piece of meltable plastic in my mouth, and then you do and it's a fun sensation."

Mints

Breath mints made up nearly 82 percent of the breath fresheners Americans used in 2001, according to MarketResearch.com, which is based in Rockville, Md.

And leading the pack was Tic Tac, favored in 21 percent of American households.

Altoids came in second.

With breath strips now available, mints' new niche lies in strong (curiously strong, as the Altoids slogan goes) flavors. Altoids recently introduced a ginger-flavored mint to go along with the peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint and cinnamon the company offers.

A new entry in the mint market is Momint, a liquid mint free of calories and carbs that seems to be supplanting Altoids as the "it" breath freshener.

"The era of the Altoids has sort of passed us by," Montuori says. "They still have a dedicated core of followers, no question. But the thing that will keep Altoids and other candied forms of mints with the stronger flavors going is the idea of pushing the edge."

Gums and more

If breath strips are too high-tech and mints too much like candy, there are plenty of other remedies.

Breaking the bad news

Need to tell a friend his or her breath stinks?

Let us offer our sympathies ... and some advice:

If you want to tell the person face to face, first make sure you're the right person to do it: a good friend, sibling, parent, spouse or partner, boss. Then say it tactfully and privately.

Repeatedly offering breath mints or gum might work.

Hate confrontation? The cowardly among us have a few options. Enter the culprit's e-mail address at the site www.therabreath.com, and the company, which makes breath-freshening products, will e-mail an e-book on managing breath disorders. Needless to say, the book is heavy on plugs for their products. Or you can visit the ProFresh Breath Center at www.profresh.com/badbreath.html and get the same service.

— Gannett News Service

Old standbys such as Trident and Dentyne gums, mouthwashes such as Scope and Listerine and sprays such as Binaca help neutralize mouth odor.

Gum, mints and breath strips work fine for temporary, short-term bad breath, the kind you get when you overdose on garlic at lunch, Cincinnati dentist Barry Gibberman says.

"That's pretty easy to take care of. You can brush your teeth, use a mint or some mouthwash and you're fine," he says.

People with chronic bad breath need to go after the source — usually bacteria built up in the mouth.

Mouthwashes such as Listerine and BreathRx, available in dentists' offices, actually kill the bad-guy bacteria, Gibberman says. Many mint-flavored mouthwashes just cover up the odor and will eventually wear off.

"I'm a fan of Listerine," he says. "It tastes lousy, but it works."

Other mouthwashes and rinses, such as TheraBreath Oral Rinse, available in many drug stores, neutralize the sulfur compounds that oral bacteria create.

People with chronic bad breath should avoid mouthwashes, mints and other remedies that contain alcohol, which can dry the mouth out and make bacteria buildup worse, Gibberman says.

Some prescription and over-the-counter medications also dry the mouth.

Brushing and flossing can get rid of a lot of the food and bacteria that can cause bad breath.

Using a tongue cleaner — sort of a small plastic squeegee available at most drugstores — daily to scrape bacteria and food off the tongue can cut down on mouth odor.

Seeing your dentist regularly also can help send halitosis packing: Many people with chronic bad breath also have tooth decay or gum disease. Get rid of it and much of the odor goes away too.

TheraBreath, ProFresh and other companies make entire mouth-cleaning systems designed to eliminate bad breath. TheraBreath's line includes tooth gel, drops, spray, gum and sinus drops.

The natural way

Consumers who prefer the natural route can find a garden full of herbs and plants that help kill bad breath.

The list includes cardamom, eucalyptus, parsley, anise, coriander, dill, peppermint, sage, wild bergamot and clove.

Parsley is especially well known for its breath-freshening properties. Chewing a sprig between courses can almost make chowing down on garlic forgivable.

Watercress also works.