Double Take -- by Dr. Michael Eggert (ed. Jennifer Bysterveld)

Bad breath. The very thought is enough to make us shiver. The breath mints, gum, mouth wash, brushing hundreds of times a day. It can get excessive. But if you think you are concerned with bad smelling breath, meet Michael Eggert. Dr. Eggert has made a career of studying halitosis. We caught up with him at the University of Alberta Bad Breath Clinic which specializes in detecting and treating the source of bad breath. These are his words.

I'm a professor in the Department of Dentistry at the University of Alberta and have been there since 1981. I'm a periodontal specialist, a biochemist and an immunochemist with a research interest into how the body controls the bacteria that grow in everybody's mouth. You might say that the really unusual thing about what I do is not the study of bad breath, but the study of spit! When I did my PhD in immunochemistry at the University of Cambridge, my friends and colleagues who knew that I was studying lectins in spit thought I was into something really exotic.

For the past 12 years I have been chair of the Committee for Consumer Products Recognition of the Canadian Dental Association. That committee is responsible for the CDA seal and statement on dental consumer products such as fluoride toothpastes etc. Ever since doing my Masters in biochemistry and periodontal specialty at the University of Toronto I have been associated with prevention of the major dental diseases: dental decay and gum problems.

Bacteria that grow in everyone's mouth are responsible for some of the odours that can be smelled on the breath. Everybody's got the bacteria, but the ones that produce smelly compounds grow more in the mouths of some people than in others. Nobody knows why, but it may have something to do with differences in natural defense mechanisms. There are other conditions in the mouth such as gingivitis, dental decay, thrush, periodontal diseases etc. that are associated with growth of other kinds of bacteria in the mouth. Some people claim an association between serious gum problems (periodontitis) and odour-producing bacteria in the mouth.

So you can see that research into Bad Breath represents a variation on the major theme of oral conditions and diseases that are associated with growth of oral bacteria. The most interesting thing is that some people get more bad breath than others - they have a predisposition that may have to do with how the natural defences in their spit function.

Everybody gets bad breath at some time and there are a whole range of reasons that I have outlined on my website. Because you only produce a small amount of saliva (spit) when asleep, everybody has a bit of smell on their breath when they wake up. Smoking and drinking which dry up your mouth give the bugs there a really good chance to produce jungle mouth first thing in the morning. Brushing your tongue or scraping it with a spoon helps to remove the biofilm of bacteria on the back of your tongue that produce the odours.

Because dental decay is by now almost completely preventable, the future of dentistry will evolve to focus more on what we call Oral Medicine. Because people no longer need to have decay, dentists will have to change the services that they provide. Diagnosis and treatment of things like bad breath are part of Oral Medicine.

Most people who come to see me are pretty serious about their breath problem. It's me who tries to lighten things up. One thing to remember is that a lot of people worry about bad breath who do not have anything to smell. On the other hand, if your friends or family members repeatedly complain about your breath, there's something going on. I always suggest that some person close to you helps you by checking how things are doing with your breath. It's really tough to judge your own breath!

Regular oral hygiene, including the tongue, drinking adequate amounts of water, cutting back on alcohol, coffee and smoking can do a lot for your breath. Simple remedies such as chewing peppermint in small amounts can help to cover up a transient breath problem. A persistent problem should probably be looked at by somebody like me.

Dr. Michael Eggert, University of Alberta Bad Breath Clinic