Bad breath is no fun when it comes to relationships. While your partner is likely to be forgiving when it comes to your various habits and flaws, halitosis is something that can be difficult to cope with for both partners.

Relationships on Female First

Relationships on Female First

Dentist and bacteriologist, and founder of The Breath Co. Dr Harold Katz comments:

Kissing

If you suffer from bad breath, even your long term partner might be less inclined to kiss you and soon, this intimate part of your relationship is gone. Very quickly, the cumulative effect of the condition can put a strain on nearly any relationship. That's because the foul smells in bad breath (chemicals such as Cadaverine and Putrescine) are interpreted in our brains as dangerous to our health.

Sex

Bad breath can interfere with sexual intimacy and make it more difficult to share some of the bonding experiences that make relationships special.

Kissing is great foreplay and part of the passion during sex, however if your breath is frequently bad, then your partner may avoid having sex with you or at the very least omit kissing from your sexual routine. This can cause long-term problems that may ultimately result in the end of your relationship.

Self-confidence

Countless romances may have been ruined by one partner's inability to accept the other's odours. Sometimes the situation can be so extreme it severely affects self-confidence in both partners. The person who has bad breath often feels embarrassed, defensive, unattractive, and left with social hang-ups. While the partner ends up feeling like they are not attracted to their husband or wife any longer.

Baby making

It has been suggested that gum disease (generally caused by neglecting oral hygiene) is linked to taking longer to get pregnant. In a recent study women with gum disease took two months longer to conceive than those without, due to the excessive inflammation.

One of the signs of gum disease is; you've guessed it, bad breath. People with the early signs of gum disease tend to avoid flossing or brushing thoroughly as the inflammation can cause pain or discomfort.

Dating

Far from being a simple, superficial matter, bad breath is central to the concerns of dating. If your date can't kiss you because they are disgusted by your breath, it may be difficult for them to display their affection or move the relationship forward. Additionally, they may develop a low opinion of you if you don't take steps to correct the problem. This is not to mention the millions of would-be Casanovas who never get past the first date due to halitosis!

Interfering with a healthy pregnancy

Expectant mothers undergo hormonal changes that leave them extremely susceptible to gum disease and oral bacterial infections which can cause bad breath.

Scientific studies also show there is a link between gum disease and premature births and low-birth-weight babies, indicating that expectant mothers should be brushing up on their oral hygiene to help ensure they have a healthy pregnancy.

What can I do?

Improving oral hygiene is one of the most important things you can do to improve your bad breath. Daily brushing and flossing can help to reduce many of the bacteria that cause bad breath and leave breath smelling fresh.

Unfortunately many products on the high street (that contain alcohol and sulphates) can actually make chronic bad breath a lot worse, by making the mouth more dry. Unlike any other high street brand, each of the products in the Breath Company range targets the bacteria living and multiplying on the tongue's (and throat's) surface that causes halitosis rather than masking the odour with powerful flavours; literally eliminating the problem.

Designed to work instantly, and to keep working for over 12 hours to keep breath smelling fresh using it's specialist oxygen and fluoride technology, each of the mild-tasting Breath Company products works on all types of bad breath and dry mouth (Xerostomia) and contains no harsh ingredients including alcohol, detergents, artificial flavours, colours, animal products, or gluten.

The Breath Co. products are available from Boots, Boots.com, Superdrug, and Gordons Chemists. To download a free copy of Dr Katz's book "The Bad Breath Bible" go to www.thebreathco.com.