I Fixed My Breath After 6 Months of Doing Everything Wrong

I Read the Studies Your Dentist Never Mentioned. Here’s What I Found.

Photo by Savvas Kalimeris on Unsplash

For about six months, I did everything the right way.

Every day, I brushed for two minutes and flossed (really) every night.

I bought an electric toothbrush, used mouthwash both times, plus scraped my tongue.

Then, I scheduled and attended my six-month cleaning, where I really listened to the dentist about how to floss more (while cleaning my teeth without any issues to report) because I had been doing everything I was supposed to do, and my breath was still terrible.

I spent about $200 over the last six months on oral care products; most of the products I bought just masked the problem for 30–60 minutes and then put me right back into the original healthcare condition….I don’t think it was my lack of effort; I was doing everything to the letter of the instructions.

So, my problem was that I was treating the symptom of bad breath without understanding what was causing it.

If you’re tired of guessing, you can check out my 10-minute Root Cause Identifier here.

The Turn That Changed Everything

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About six months in, I stopped buying products and started reading research.

I was researching halitosis etiology by reading dental journals, PubMed, and clinical reviews. I was not doing this as an expert but because I had no logical next steps to take in the product category and wanted to identify why all of my attempts to date had failed.

The research I found showed me that chronic breath odor is not one single condition; rather, it comprises seven distinct root causes, each with a different mechanism and a different way to be resolved.

The evidence for this is not novel or emerging; rather, there is plenty of established research within the clinical literature. The seven causes are clearly documented, their mechanisms have been identified, and specific and simple interventions exist for each one.

Consumers do not have access to any of this information. The product industry has no vested interest in informing consumers that mouthwash was designed for surface bacterial reduction, not the posterior tongue biofilm responsible for 80% of chronic cases.

Colgate has nothing to gain by educating a consumer who learns that by using a $3 tongue scraper correctly on the back of their tongue will be more effective than using an $20 rinse. This information is documented primarily in journals as opposed to being contained on product packaging.

What My Root Cause Actually Was

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I took time to review literature and then ran through the diagnostic methods used by researchers to help identify different causes for “bad breath” and then apply them to my situation to compare what I experienced with the characteristics of tongue biofilm from the research articles.

I met the description of a biofilm on the tongue. I had persistent odor that was greater in the morning and remained through the day. No bleeding of gums, tonsil issues, no digestive problems or any major medications. Was not localized to a specific area suggesting cavity. Just a continuous ambient problem that was immune to everything I had used thus far.

How I missed this clue for six months! I had scraped the front two-thirds of my tongue where most toothbrush users would scrape. The posterior third of the tongue (the part of the tongue that goes back toward the throat) was scraped very little. The anaerobic bacteria that produce the volatile sulfur compounds are actually in the posterior third of the tongue. The front part of the tongue has a low level of odor-producing bacteria while the posterior third has more bacteria per surface area than the front of the tongue. I had scraped the wrong area for six months.

The adjustment was thirty seconds. Reach further back, past the point where it’s comfortable, into the area where the coating is thickest. The first time I did it properly, what came off the spoon was enough to tell me I’d found the right location.

Within a week the difference was noticeable. Within two weeks my partner said something unprompted. The problem that had been persistent for the better part of a year had a cause that cost nothing to address once I knew what I was looking for.

What I Built From It

Once I had completed my research on the seven root causes, I identified tongue biofilm, gingivitis, xerostomia (dry mouth), tonsiloliths (tonsil stones), tooth decay, gastrointestinal issues and problems related to a person’s lifestyle and developed a self-assessment tool to evaluate these conditions using the same diagnostic criteria as established in current scientific literature.

The self-assessment does not provide a solution like many products on the market do; it provides an evaluation of an individual’s problem and suggests a direction to take (the solution), which is a process, not a product. This process is not offered by product companies because they do not have an incentive to promote a non-repeating, one-time revenue by providing their customers with the appropriate treatment for their specific condition.

I had tongue biofilm as my root cause; you may have a different root cause of your problem. The treatment protocols for gingivitis, tongue biofilm, dry mouth and tonsil stones are all different; therefore, to come to the appropriate conclusion for your individual situation, the appropriate question needs to be asked and answered in the appropriate sequence using the disallowing criteria that would eliminate the root cause of a condition.

The Assessment tool is used to complete a 10-minute self-assessment designed to identify which root cause is the underlying cause of your condition.

You can find out the complete 10-minute Root Cause Identifier here.

If this answered a question you’ve had for a while, feel free to follow for more.