Bad Breath Generates Weird Science, Odd Research
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
One of the perks of being a bad breath expert is that you get to monitor the state of halitosis research. While in other fields it might be boring to read hundreds of studies and sift through reams of data, for me there’s nothing better than hunkering down with the latest investigations into the causes of and treatments for oral odor. That’s because bad breath occasionally generates some seriously weird research.
Consider everyone’s favorite new study: Recently, researchers at the UK’s University of Cranfield partnered with French fromage experts in order to find the world’s stinkiest cheeses. After sniffing and eating samples from dozens of candidates (and presumably, getting some of the worst halitosis on Earth), the judges declared a winner – Vieux Boulogne, a French cheese with a rind soaked in beer. The variety is so smelly that it beat out Pont l’Eveque (known to stain entire fridges with its scent) and Camembert (a cheese affectionately nicknamed “God’s Feet”).
And if nose-based judging is a little too subjective for your taste, you’re in luck. Researchers later verified their findings by using a specially equipped electronic sensor. Once again, Vieux Boulogne reigned supreme as the King of Oral Odor.
If you think that cheese-based scientific inquiry is a bit unusual, wait until you get a load of a study published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. In it, a pair of dental hygienists from Hebrew University theorized that we might be able to use blue light to kill bad breath.
