In the news. Doctors Develop World's Longest Lasting Mint

[halitosisux]

YW. I really hope it works for you!

The idea for doing this came from another member of this forum (I think it was "dolittle" who works in a hospital or as a microbiologist) and he said that in the past (perhaps before antibiotics were discovered?) the standard treatment for gum disease was to irrigate the mouth and gums with chlorhexidine.

Whatever though, for the first time in my life I no longer get ANY odour on my floss. I've even been able to go a whole weekend without even brushing my teeth, and there's still not even a trace of odour when I floss my teeth.

BTW chlorhexidine will deaden your tastebuds and give you a strange feeling and sense of taste for a few days if it comes into contact with your tongue, but this completely wears off with regular use.

If you have mild periodontal disease then it might be worth consulting with a periodontist about trying this, just in case. But I'm sure that if there are no issues that it will help you.

Please keep us informed of how you get on.

Soon, I might try alternatives to chlorhexidine (because of the fact it's not meant for long-term use). I'll keep you informed!

[halitosisux]

Back to the subject of mints, has anyone got any new information on these?

[everhopeful81]

Status:
- clean mouth according to dentist/hygenist
- doctor was understanding and gave me some flagyl & tested me for h pylori (negative) - the flagyl made no real difference
- had 3 partially erupted wisdom teeth taken out last year: helped remove the odour that only came about once the wisdom teeth started coming out a af ew years back, so positive though still suffering: am pretty sure am type 1 - most odour is from tongue - it helps to scrape though also have very dry mouth which contributes
- my routine involves brushing/flossing/using tee pees normally, then tongue scraping, using a colgate hydrogen peroxide based mouthwash, then actually using hydrogen peroxide mixed with warm water and gargling especially back of tongue for a few mins - this works well for a while though always need to have warm water to stop mouth getting too dry

I got the forever mints today - they did last for a while & I could smell the mint myself though I have to say I could still taste the usual sour taste in my mouth, and as with other mints generally, they seemed like a cover up (which on the whole I find doesnt work as you can still smell the shi*t smell just mixed with mint...) this is surprising as i Know they contain xylitol which I am a big fan off - the Trident gum i chew has xylitol which I find alot more effective as while it has a flavour, it keeps the mouth extremely moisturised (at least for 20/30 mins)..Anyway will try again the rest of this week but agree that it would be much more effective to have some slow releasing anti-bacterial substance mixed with xylitol - and also target the tongue - I only used the mints along my gum lines but will try nearer the tongue although will look very strange when speaking to people

im in london if anyone is keen to meet btw

ps went to dr stemmer 6 years ago - what a load of bull, charged me a ridiculous amount to clean my teeth and tell me to scrape my tongue and tell me that no pill will ever help me...thanks man!

[halitosisux]

Thanks for the great feedback.

Have you ever tried using chlorhexidine?

Do those mints stay if you stick one to the roof of your mouth? That might be better if it manages to stay, as long as they don't dissolve too quickly in that position.

[everhopeful81]

I have used chlorhexidine gluconate - it wasn't bad but the sh*it smell/taste starts to come back fairly quickly regardless of whatever I use. I will try the mints on the roof of my mouth & see if any significant difference..

[liza22]

Halitosisux,That's really great you're able to manage the problem! I was put on chlorhexidine in the past by my dentist, and although it does help, I don't think it gets rid of the problem, but I've never irrigated or targeted any problem areas. I don't think they sell the alcohol free in the US, just the alcohol based.

Sometimes I think I've tried so many different things that I've messed up the oral flora. I've been working on this problem for a couple decades.

BTW, I think I PM'd you by mistake with this message so you don't have to respond. I meant to public post. Sorry!

[SHITBREATH]

Forever mints did not improve my bb,i got a strong mint shitbreath.I truly believe that tmau is the problem for many of us and i pray that the researchers will find a cure so we can live a normal life.I will get drunk now and try to forget,i've had a horrible week.One day they'll solve this horrible disease,don't give up!

[halitosisux]

Thanks liza

I also used chlorhexidine in the past, before I knew about any problem areas. It helped a little.

I know BB (including Type-1 BB) may be due to unknown complex issues or things like weaker forms of TMAU. But nobody should ever give up looking for these hiding places. I've been so lucky that my BB never involved the air coming out of my lungs or my nose. It was always my mouth and throat. That made it far easier to try to solve, but even so, it still took me until I reached my 40s to really get anywhere.

I'm totally amazed at how effective chlorhexidine has been on areas where I've used it for irrigation. The key thing, I think, is targeting every area where bacteria can stagnate - abnormal or not. For example, you could have tonsils which have the tendency to fill with the skank which leads to stones. No amount of tonsil cleaning is going to resolve this issue if the skank is being produced elsewhere. BOTH areas need to be targeted.

The alcohol-based chlorhexidine should be fine. I think the alcohol is only in there as a preservative, I don't think it's an active ingredient for the purposes of killing bacteria. Alcohol will cause some dryness but it will wear off once you start drinking water.

I wouldn't worry about messing up your oral flora. If only we could! If it were possible to mess up our oral flora then it would also be possible to UN-mess it too, or change it for a better one. And we know there's no such thing. We can change the ecology though, and that would lead to changes and shifts in bacterial profile, which can then lead to an improvement or worsening of our breath. The things which can lead to an abnormal ecology are things like our oral pH (acid reflux will lead to a drop), too much (or abnormal) mucus drainage, not enough saliva production, etc etc.

I didn't receive a PM btw

@Shitbreath, sorry it doesn't help you. If you don't mind me asking though, how long did you manage to get them to last in your mouth before completely dissolving? Where abouts did you place it? Thanks.

[mindspace]

Hi Halitosisux,
When you had bad breath before did u have PATM-nose rubs,sneezing coughing even when people are not near you.What was your case?My problems are mouth and throat.And if you have PATM does that mean that u have TMAU and that is the only reason?My case is aggressive periodontitis with a lot of Prevotella intermedia and Fusobacterium nucleatim.Antibiotic doesn't help-maybe a little reduce but not enough.Next month I'll extract all my upper teeth because that's where i have big periodontal pockets and hope that will reduce bb and PATM.PATM is awful thing-one year was hell to me because of PATM-I really think that i have bad breath all the time but it's not like that and I''m a liitle bit better.

[liza22]

Thanks Halitosisux--interesting comments. Also, I wonder if people with a chronic problem need to take it longer term than what doctors prescribe. My oral medicine doc just said to use it 1 week every month. Maybe I should do the opposite--use 3 week, off 1 week every month.

Good to know I wasn't so clumsy in sending you the PM after all. Sure thought I did.

[halitosisux]

No I never had any reactions at all. Nobody ever got the chance to have reactions with me because I'd never give anyone a chance to. I was always chewing food or smoking cigarettes or just remaining a mute, even in gatherings of people. People just accepted that I was an oddball, or just had behavioural problems, or just plain rude. I didn't care as long as everyone kept out of my life and my personal space.

I can't say I ever attributed anyone's sneezes, coughs or nose rubs to my presense.

PATM could be something very simple, like allergen contamination of your clothing for example, or it could be complex and relate to some kind of gas or allergy release produced within the body. It could also be paranoia brought on gradually by consciously searching for reactions. These could all be separate or they might be combined.

Just my opinions of course. If you have such major dental problems then you really need to deal with those before you know where you stand regarding anything else.

@Liza, yes I don't think it will cause any harm apart from slight staining which can be easily scraped off. If it helps, at least it will help you get closer to identifying the cause of your BB. You could eventually move onto other safer antibacterials.

[Mac]

I'm told my breath doesn't smell bad now, unlike before, but it's still very hard for me sometimes to breathe into someone's face too closely. I call it my "naked" breath, because it's like the same feeling of exposure I feel of going naked in front of others. And even if I only have the slightest taste of something else in my mouth, like mint or something to drink or eat, it's like being thrown something to cover myself up with. I am a real mess psychologically. I might consider going for some therapy because I'm sure this is all to do with severe lack of self-esteem. So when I'm feeling this anxiety, these mints would definitely make me feel better at the prospect of ever having to be trapped for a long period of time amongst others.

Whatever my breath actually smells of very close up, I still have a form of "halitophobia" of the fear of anyone being able to smell what my breath smells of, even if I know it's not a foul odour, but just for the fact it's my breath. Hope that makes sense.

I can totally empathise with you. Even when I think my breath doesn't smell I find it so hard to look at people directly when I talk. Turning side on to them and not raising my voice so as to try not to expel too much air. I'm very softly spoken aswell and it's so frustrating when people don't hear you and then get closer so they can hear. Self esteem is a big problem for me too, exacerbated by other issues stemming from when I was younger. Therapy might be a good avenue for you. I've thought about it before. I think maybe I need to take the plunge and try to get a girlfriend to get another perspective. That's one of the hardest things is not knowing how bad it is. I met a girl last year and she stayed round my house for a week and the only time she mentioned anything was when she told me to brush my teeth after I'd just brushed them. I was drinking whisky though and a friend of mine told me my breath smelt after drinking whisky aswell. This was after I discovered how to clean my tonsils with hydrogen peroxide and we were in pretty close proximity all week so maybe it's not too bad when I clean my tonsils.

By the way, halitosisux, where are you from?

[halitosisux]

I'm from the UK, not very far from London.
I also have issues stemming from childhood. I don't think a day ever went by where I wasn't bullied by my older brother and sister. My breath was their main weapon. We'd sleep in the same bed sometimes and they used to literally kick me out onto the floor. I wish I could go back in time and "help myself" to prevent the damage done to me psychologically. If my breath even stunk at all back then, it might only have been because I never saw any point in brushing my teeth any more if it made no difference. What a life.

[halitosisux]

Any more info on these mints?
Sadmum, did you get yours? You last said you were waiting for yours to arrive, and then you didn't report back.

I would like to know how long anyone has managed to make them last before they completely dissolved?

[funkybreath]

I use the mints and they seem to last anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. They don't really do enough to mask my bad breath but it's better than nothing.

@halitosisux Can you elaborate on the chlorhexidine irrigation? I'm interested in giving it a try.