Can you ask a dentist if your breath is bad?

[HoleInBucket]

Or will that be too weird?

I do my best to follow some good oral hygiene.

• I eat a reasonably clean diet with reduced bad carbs and sugars
• I floss
• I brush my teeth twice a day
• I used to smoke, then I vaped but not any more
• I drink water every day. Probably about 1.5 litres a day
• I attend to my dentist twice a year for cleanings.

I wasn't always this great by the way. All these new habits are about 2 years in my life. I brushed my teeth twice a day but that was it.

Anyways, I got a little bit close to my mother and she covered her nose. She does that regularly as if her nose is cold but it happens when I am nearby talking. I saw my brother to the same a few months ago where is covered his nose around me.

Ask a friend! Or your mum or brother.

You can't ask the dentist to sniff it! They wear masks anyway :)

Also another question, I have an appointment at the dentist coming up soon. Do I need to wear a mask for the dentist appointment?

It's not weird, I'm a dentist and I get asked this by patients fairly often

I did ask my mother before but she said don't be silly. That doesn't put my mind at ease when I see others covering their noses around me.

I would assume that you do have a problem with your breath and go down the route of telling the dentist that you have seen people covering their mouth around you, and ask whether they could see if there is anything obvious causing it. That way, the dentist doesn't have to say either way, but can still try and help if needed.

Could you have tonsil stones? Mine cause me to have foul breath if I go too long without cleaning them out

I googled the symptoms of tonsil stones and I am not experiencing other symptoms of tonsil stones. Would a dentist be able to see tonsil stones? Or is that for a doctor? I would feel silly going to the doctor with bad breath. If I had other symptoms I would go.

My dentist will likely tell me to floss more.

You should be able to see tonsil stones yourself if you open your mouth wide and shine your torch to the back, if there are small white/yellow lumps they will be the stones.

Do you get reflux? Sinus problems?

I remember reading to test your breath you should lick the back of your hand then sniff it?

I used to suffer from a lot of sinus problems but not any more. I am not taking mess for sinus. I identified a major cause for sinus issues and for me that was colds. Colds always progressed into sinus. Now, I tackle colds head on. Its been a few years since I last had a cold and Corona and pandemic measures probably helped with no colds too.

I do get heartburn issues regularly.

Reflux and heartburn can cause bad breath

I googled breath tests and and I am not able to identify a smell. One test says to rub a spoon on the tongue and scrap it and smell it. I am not able to get a smell. I am not able to get a smell with the lick test either.