Friday November 3, 2000

Testing Bad Breath Remedies

Everywhere we look, we're blasted with ads for breath fresheners. But do any of them really help you & your friends breathe easier? Attorney Mike Bryant looks for the consumer pay-off.

Almost 60 million of us suffer from it. Nasty breath that'll peel paint off the wall. Americans spent 3 billion dollars last year battling bad breath with fresh breath products. Mouthwash, mints or gum... which one works the best?

We put three top selling breath freshners (Altoids, Listerine, and Wrigley's Winterfresh gum) through our own unscientific test. Our so called experts: Pam, Dorothy and Michelle... brave waitresses at L.A. hotspot The Saddleranch Chop House who allowed Mike to breath on them in the name of pseudo-science.

Michelle says, "I've got an ultra-sensitive nose."

First Mike had to develop a little dragon breath. A piece of a garlic and onion pizza, a cup of coffee, and a puff of a cigar seemed to do the trick.

After giving the girls a sample of his breath, now it was time to test... the Altoid. There were still signs of Mike's foul breath, but better than before.

Then he went from mints to mouthwash. More garlic and onion pizza, another cup of coffee, another puff on the cigar... followed by a mouthful of Listerine. Mixed results with comments ranging from "so much better" to "you have the anti-bacterial thing going but its better" to "it is better but I can still smell the garlic."

Well, maybe the gum will help with that. But first... you know the routine. All sorts of smells were lingering so as our judges recover, we mean deliberate... Mike decided to ask a real bad breath expert.

Los Angeles dentist Dr. Steven Firschein says most of his patients are worried about muck in their mouths. He says about "85% of the people who come in have questions about it."

Dr. Firschein says mints, gum, and mouthwashes can help, but don't always solve the problem. He advises, "If you need something for 15 or 20 minute they can be helpful."

So which was the most helpful for Mike's bad breath? Mouthwash won 2-1, but the girls say anything is better than nothing. So if someone offers you breath freshener... you probably should take the hint.

Well besides food, a lot of different things cause bad breath. Here's the EXTRA info: gum disease and cavities are two possible culprits.