According to studies, almost 50% of bosses said they wouldn’t hire someone if the candidate had poor teeth or bad breath.  Many have admitted that they turned down people because of their appearance.

High importance is placed on appearance at a job interview.  It is said that if a person is too lazy to look good and take care of their hygiene, they may be lazy when it comes to doing their actual job. 

Some other things that made employers uninterested in hiring someone were tattoos, facial piercings, bad skin, and even excessive sweating.  Also found in the study, 15% of people seeking employment considered having cosmetic surgery to increase their chances of getting a job, and 3% have already gone through with the surgery.  The most popular types of cosmetic surgery were: cosmetic dentistry, breast implants, and facelifts.

Also, according to some cosmetic surgery specialists, 1/5 workers believe that their appearance has prevented them from going further in their careers.

Source:  Express.co.uk

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How can I test my own breath?

Good question. It is impossible to smell your own breath by cupping your hand up to your nose and smelling.  All you do is smell your hand.

Your body is designed in such a manner, that you cannot detect your own odor this way. It’s a human process called acclimation, which is necessary so that we are able to smell other things besides ourselves.

There are 2 ways to check if your breath is offensive:

1. At the California Breath Clinics, through the use of the Halimeter, which measures the concentration of sulfides in your breath.

2. A few quick home tests, which will give you a good indication if your breath offends – and costs you nothing (not as accurate as 1 and 2 above). Here they are:

Here are a few good ways to test your own breath at home:

1. Wipe the top surface of your tongue with a piece of cotton gauze and smell that. (That’s probably the most honest way.) Furthermore, if you notice a yellowish stain on the cotton, it’s likely that you have an elevated sulfide production level.

2. Lick the back of your hand. Let that dry for about 10 seconds and then smell. If you notice an odor, you have a breath disorder because the sulfur salts from your tongue have been transferred to your hand.

3. Run a piece of dental floss between your back teeth (especially where you may get food caught) and then smell the floss. This may be an indication of the level of odors others may detect.

4. Stand in front of the mirror and stick your tongue out as far as possible. If you notice that the very back of your tongue is whitish, it may be a sign that you have bad breath. Also, you can judge the reaction from others. Our patients tell us that they are no longer offered gum and mints and people no longer step away from them. It has significantly changed their confidence and improved their lives.

5. Ask the opinion of someone you can trust. Ask them to check your breath several times daily because breath changes throughout the day.

6. If certain foods alter your taste, it is a good sign that sulfur compounds are being produced. This usually happens after using alcohol-based mouthwashes, eating dairy foods, drinking alcoholic beverages, or after eating sugary products (Altoids, candy, Pepsi, etc.)

If any of the tests above prove positive (you notice an offensive odor or taste, you may want to answer our clinical questionnaire, which will further assist you in your search for fresh breath and taste).

7. Of course, as I mentioned before, there are more accurate methods, the most accurate being the Halimeter. This is an instrument which measures the concentration of Sulfide molecules in one’s breath and/or saliva. The border line number for fresh breath vs. bad breath is about 75 ppb (parts per billion) according to Dr. Yaegaki who published the definitive article on these values. In our clinics, we have used these guidelines on thousands of patients. We have also demonstrated the use of this sensitive instrument on TV stations across the US, Europe, and Asia.

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International Guru Of Good Breath Shares His Secrets

Armed with the Halimeter, Dr. Katz shares secrets to bad breath relief to Early Show anchor Julie Chen.

NEW YORK, March 19, 2007

Bad Breath Relief

Bad breath can be an embarrassing problem for people who often don’t even know they have it. Dentist Dr. Harold Katz shares tips for bad breath relief and prevention with Julie Chen.

Bad breath can be a huge problem for people who have it and often they don’t even know it’s a problem.

Dr. Harold Katz, a dentist, is the founder of California Breath Clinics, and the international guru of good breath. He came to The Early Show to tell people how they can keep their mouths smelling good.

Katz said that bad breath isn’t really caused by what people eat, but by sulfur compounds.

“Chronic bad breath has to due with bacteria that live in the back of your throat with sulfur, different chemicals. Can you imagine what they smell like? And they’re produced by bacteria,” Katz told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. “The problem is people used to think if I use a strong-tasting mouthwash I can cover it up.”

Katz used a hali-meter to test the compounds in the mouth. Anything above 120 means the person has bad breath. He blew into it and had had a 73, which means he has fresh breath. The hali-meter goes all the way up to 2,000.

The problem is that many people do not know they have a breath problem and few have hali-meters to show them. Katz said a good way to tell is to lick the back of you hand and let it dry for a couple seconds and smell it.

Katz said that alcohol, detergent and toothpaste dry out the mouth which adds to bad breath. Even sugar in breath mints feed bacteria to make bad breath worse. The best way to fight bad breath, Katz said, is to oxygenate the mouth.

“These are available in drugstores, discounted stores, supermarkets and online stores,” he said gesturing to some products he brought on to the show. “Oxygenating compounds. It’s the oxygen that stops the bad breath. Very important, you need to drink plenty of water to make sure you have plenty of saliva, nature’s way of keeping your breath fresh. You need to eat juicy fruits such as apples, celery. Dairy could lead to bad breath, sodas and sugar. And there’s probiotic treatments that help with bad breath.”

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More about the bad breath phone from MSNBC.com.

Updated: 6:11 a.m. PT Oct 3, 2007

TOKYO – Worried that you’re not getting enough exercise or that you’ve eaten way too much garlic? A Japanese firm has come up with a phone that can help.

Japan’s largest cell phone carrier NTT DoCoMo unveiled this week a “Fitness Phone,” designed to help the user stay healthy — and avoid bad breath.

The handheld phone, equipped with various devices that can measure your pulse or the amount of steps you’ve taken in a day, dispenses heath advice after you’ve punched in statistics such as gender, age and weight.

TechWatch: Phat fat phone

And you can also exhale into the phone and it will tell you whether its time to reach for the breath mints.

“Our primary target groups would be fat-fighting middle-aged businessmen and young women on diets,” said Kentaro Endo, a spokesman for NTT DoCoMo.

A recent government survey found that on average, Japanese men in their 40s were fatter than they were 12 years ago, mainly due to lack of exercise, while women in the same age group were slimmer because they were more health conscious.

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What is the first thing that you would do if a cop pulls you over and performs a breath test? If you’ve been drinking slightly, the first thought in your head would be to gargle with some mouthwash to mask the alcohol in your breath. Don’t.A common cause of false readings is alcohol-based mouthwash. The Alcohol in mouthwash can actually increase your blood alcohol content (BAC). Listerine mouthwash, for example, is 27% alcohol.

“Incidentally, Listerine mouthwash can cause a false breath-alcohol test result of 0.43% BAC, which is near the level of coma. These effects last as long as 30 minutes to an hour.” (The Prohibition Times, JUNK SCIENCE: GOVERNMENT TESTS FOR DRUNKDRIVING by John Lee)

Research in Wikipedia also confirms this:

“Mouth alcohol can also be created in other ways. Dentures, for example, will trap alcohol. Periodontal disease can also create pockets in the gums which will contain the alcohol for longer periods. And recent use of mouthwash or breath fresheners—possibly to disguise the smell of alcohol when being pulled over by police—contain fairly high levels of alcohol.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathalyzer)

Of course, the best way to avoid flunking a breath test is to avoid alcohol entirely. But if you decide to drink moderately enough to be able to drive, and anticipate a breath test, it is a good idea to use non-alcoholic mouthwash. So the next time you go out on a date, you’ll be prepared for literally anything – a kiss, a slow dance, or even a breath test.

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