Bad breath test:

                              Bad breath may turn into a nightmare in someone’s life .As this condition degrades reputation in your social circle by reflecting poor hygiene habit. Even adds on to your pain if you are suffering from bleeding gums. But this situation can tackled effectively if diagnosed at an early stage. In majority cases the patient remains unaware of this because it is very difficult to smell own breath. But there some other effective and testes methods to test bad breath. These tests are very simple and can be applied at our home only.

Below, I outline the pros and cons of different self-testing techniques.

Hand-Cupping method:

                           This is one of the worst methods, as it is difficult to direct the air coming out of your nose into your mouth. Furthermore, it is easier to smell bad breath when the odor is removed from your mouth (i.e. with a cotton swab, toothpick, etc.) than when it is coming out of your mouth.

Swabbing:

 Take cotton gauze, swab the back of your tongue and inside the cheeks .This swab will then get wet with foul matter, and if it smells like rotten egg or fish then you are suffering from bad breath.

Using Toothpick:

                    Take a toothpick, and then move it in between your back teeth. Take it out and smell immediately. Toothpick may smell bad if you are suffering from bad smell. This test is not so effective and used for preliminary tests only and not a professional test for bad breath.

 Halimeter;

                       This method is used by professional dentists and hygienists .Halimeter is an electronic device that measures bad breath .This method is effective and sure but quite costly.

Home testing kit:

                       Home testing kits are available in the market. This kit contains swabs, to gather bacterial and sulfuric samples from the back of tongue. Take sample from the cheeks and tongue, and then soak them in the test solution. Wait for sometime for the solution to change the color .The color of the solution indicates severity of bad breath. These kits have one drawback and that is its cost.

Licking Wrist Method:

                     Another common way to check for bad breath is to lick your wrist, let it dry for a minute, and then smell it. Unfortunately, this method is also not perfect.

Dental Floss:

                    This method is as effective as using a toothpick, as it is difficult to get good sample from the back of tongue. This dental floss should be devoid of any fragrance agent as t mask the bad breath. And may result into a negative test.

Time of Test:

                      Time plays an important role in testing bad breath effectively. The best time to test bad breath symptoms is one hour after brushing the teeth. As at this time only the persons with halitosis will smell bad and not others. Testing bad breath at home early in the morning after awaking because at this time almost every person smells bad.