Neil Sattin.com

When you’re out in the world interacting with other people, having conversations, it helps to have fresh breath.  Don’t you want to go to bed knowing for certain that you’re not going to offend your partner with bad breath?  Haven’t there been times when an associate (or, gasp, a potential significant other) got a little too close for your comfort – on account of their halitosis?  Even in our overly-perfumed world, bad breath easily sneaks its way into our awareness.  Unfortunately there’s no easy way to deliver the message to someone else that you’d like them to “exhale away from you” – but there IS something quite easy that you can do for yourself to ensure that your breath is fresh all the time.

There was a time when I wouldn’t go anywhere without a pack of Cinnamon Trident, but gum (and most mouthwashes) only temporarily mask the problem.  Chewing gum runs out of flavor (and protective value – same with breath mints), and mouthwashes dry your mouth out with harsh alcohol – along with having the other adverse effect of ruining anything else you might want to taste (nothing like a yummy dinner at a restaurant lashed with Listerine).  However, several years ago I came across a new source of information about bad breath – along with a product that actually WORKS to effectively combat the effects of halitosis.

Quick Disclaimer:  If you have really BAD bad breath, and it doesn’t go away, that could be the sign of something serious going on with your health.  Check with a dentist or a doctor to make sure that you’re otherwise a-ok.

What really causes bad breath

If you want a really thorough explanation, you should check out “The Bad Breath Bible” – which is a collection of all the information that Dr. Harold Katz (the creator of Therabreath products) has learned through his years of research into bad breath.  Here’s the skinny in brief:  At the back of your tongue, there are ridges.  Within those ridges live fun little bacteria – anaerobic bacteria, the kind that thrive in an oxygen-deprived environment.  Those bacteria give off the nasty-smelling gasses that stand between you and your sweet-smelling ideal.  The solution to halitosis first GETS AT those bacteria, exposing them to the effects of your treatment, THEN it kills them, but with something gentle – oxygen.  Sure, all that alcohol in most commercial mouthwashes kills the bacteria, but the alcohol dries out your mouth, leading to a chain of events that actually causes MORE of that bacteria to form.

So here’s a method that I found…that works.  And it’s easy to follow.

1. Floss your teeth.  Just because the bacteria at the back of your tongue is the main source of bad smells doesn’t make it the ONLY source.  Use floss (I prefer “Glide”) to get rid of any food debris that might be hiding out between your teeth, and to also disturb the little colonies of bacteria that otherwise wouldn’t be touched by your brushing.
2. Brush your teeth.  I use a toothpaste from JASON Organics called “Healthy Mouth” – which is imho the best toothpaste there is.  How can I make such a claim?  First, the toothpaste tastes great (it’s flavored with clove and cinnamon) – so you can eat literally right after you brush your teeth.  I’m serious – you can even drink orange juice without that “oh no, I just brushed my teeth” sort of feeling.  So unlike most toothpastes, it doesn’t ruin your palette.  Second, whenever I go to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, there is almost never any “calculus” (i.e. tartar) on my teeth for them to scrape.  I always get this look like “why are you here again?” – and inevitably they ask what I use for toothpaste.  Finally, Healthy Mouth is an all-natural organic toothpaste, without any SLS (sodium laurel sulfate, a foaming agent that can cause irritation, and that also happens to be in most other commercial toothpastes) – so it’s good for you and good for the planet.
3. Use a tongue scraper on the back of your tongue to GENTLY remove the coating.  The coating is what protects those little bacteria hanging out in the grooves.  Make sure that you’re GENTLE – you don’t want to actually hurt your tongue, you’re just trying to get the (sorry about this) mucous coating off.  Try to go back as far as you can – in order to avoid triggering your gag reflex it helps to take deep breaths and exhale as you’re reaching back with the tongue scraper.  So, again, be gentle with your tongue scraper (you can get one at any pharmacy) – just expose those little bacteria so they’re vulnerable for what’s about to follow.  Rinse your mouth with a little water when you’re done with this step.
4. Gargle with Therabreath.  Take a capful of Therabreath, gargle it as far back in your mouth as you can (try to reach the spots that you just scraped with your tongue scraper) – then swish it around the rest of your mouth.  Try to get everything thoroughly.  Spit the mouthwash out.  Repeat if you’re paranoid.  DO NOT RINSE.  That’s it!  Therabreath has a stabilized oxygen compound that works immediately on those newly-exposed bacteria, and keeps on working for several hours.  Plus, it doesn’t dry out your mouth and it also has the property that you can eat soon after and fully enjoy the tastes of the food you’re consuming.  Bad breath begone – without any side effects!

FYI, I’m going to keep my product recommendations to an absolute minimum, so that you know that when I recommend something it really works.  Therabreath Mouthwash totally transformed my life in the “no more bad breath” department, which is why I’m writing about it.  The link takes you to the Therabreath website -  there are other products on the website that that are also effective, but I’ve found that the Therabreath Mouthwash was really all I needed to get rid of bad breath.

That’s all there is to it.  For more information, check out the “Bad Breath Bible” (it’s a free download) – and give the 4-step treatment I just outlined a try.  You can pick up Therabreath directly from their website, and it is also carried by many local pharmacy and grocery store chains (just be forewarned, they often keep it on the “specialty oral care products” shelf – not with the other mouthwashes).  When you address the problem of bad breath for good, you’ll never have to worry about whether or not your breath is an issue for the people around you.  I guarantee those people will thank you – silently.  And you can breathe a risk-free sigh of relief.

As of this writing, we’re already 3 days into the new year (2008).  Do you have a vision for what this year might bring?  I’m talking about a SPECIFIC vision, one that enables you to sit down, close your eyes, and imagine every detail of what you’d like for your life in the coming year.  While you’re envisioning the coming year, you’ll also be able to feel the feeling of having attained your goals – and that’s the feeling that will propel you forward towards making your goals a reality.  Your vision has to be clear if you want the Law of Attraction to be working for you.

I’m going to break it down into a few topics for you, as an outline to help you through the process of formulating your vision.  You’ll want to reserve a little bit of time for yourself – perhaps a series of 15 minute writing breaks each day for the next several days until you’ve covered all of the areas and feel good about the “completeness” of your vision (I use the quotes because we can’t presume to know everything that’s going to happen to us over the coming year – and we also want to retain a certain degree of flexibility as we adjust to the circumstances that life throws our way).  Use your journal (electronic or pen-and-paper) – something that’ll be easy to access whenever you want to refresh your memory (or make modifications).  Here are the areas you want to address in your vision:

1. What are you doing for a living?  Talk about what specifically you’re doing, how many hours you work, where your work takes place, what your source(s) of income are, and how much income you’re generating.  Who are your “customers” – and how do they feel about the service that you provide?  How does that make you feel?
2. If your work and recreation aren’t completely integrated, what else are you doing for “fun” (although your work is fun, right?)?  Do you have any cool vacations planned?  What places would you like to see?  What hobbies do you want to pursue?  How do you ensure your fitness – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual?
3. Describe your physical surroundings in the various areas of your life.  How are your surroundings organized?  What does your furniture look like?  What projects do you intend to complete around the house?  Are your papers organized?  Your bookshelves?  Your refrigerator?  What colors are the spaces, and what feeling do you have when you’re there?
4. Detail the time that you intend to spend with your family and friends.  What’s your ideal amount of time with the people close to you?  What are you doing together?  How do you stay in touch with each other?  How can you participate in the lives of your children, your parents, and your close friends?
5. Imagine what you’re doing for education and growth over the coming year.  Are you learning a new language?  Studying a new field?  Overcoming your fear of math?  Taking guitar lessons?  Learning how to ride a unicycle?  What are some ways that you can push your boundaries, to get out of your comfort zone and experience more of what life has to offer?
6. Who are some of the people you might be meeting?  Are there people who can help you attain your goals?  Are there people you can help?  Who are the people there, with you, as you help each other achieve your respective visions of success?
7. What kinds of things would you accomplish in a typical week?  Simply talk about what a typical week might look like, how much progress you’d make in the various areas of your life, and what the pace of your life would feel like.  What does it feel like to achieve the perfect balance - when everything has come together in all aspects of your life? 

The point of answering these questions is for you to be as specific as possible about the vision that you have for yourself over the coming year.  If you have a partner, share your vision(s) with each other to make sure that you’re in alignment (and so that you can be keeping each other’s goals in mind).  Once you have a clear picture of how you want your life to be during the coming year, you can spend a little time each day getting into the feeling of having already accomplished these very goals.  By focusing on the feeling of a positive outcome, you are creating internal alignment – which brings clarity to your interactions with the world around you.  On a practical level, that clarity will help you prioritize the various opportunities that come your way.  You’ll also be sending a clear message to the world around you about where you’re headed – and, in accordance with the Law of Attraction, the world will definitely respond in kind.