Afraid you're among the millions of Americans with bad breath? You may have poor body image, rather than bad oral hygiene. Israeli researchers have isolated a "bad breath paradox" in which people convinced they suffer from bad breath actually have odor-free mouths, while those with halitosis are blissfully unaware of their condition, Liana Eli, D.M.D., and colleagues at Tel Aviv University collected three year's worth of data pertaining to "bad breath worriers." The breath-odor self-ratings of worriers were at odds with those of impartial odor "judges." Worriers were more depressed and anxious than non-worriers, whose self-perception of breath odor was objective.
"We found that this is a body image [problem]," says Eli, "like somebody thinks he's fat or thin; tall or short. It does not necessarily have anything to do with what he really looks like." Eli stresses that many worriers seek dental help, when in fact they would probably be better served visiting a psychotherapist.
