Holy Halitosis!

Holy Halitosis!

According to Freakonomics: “ Listerine was invented in the 19th century as powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in a very distilled form, as both a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution to "chronic halitosis", the faux medical term that the Listerine advertising group created in 1921 to describe bad breath.
By creating a "medical condition" for which consumers now felt they needed a cure, Listerine created the market for their mouthwash. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered catastrophe, but Listerine's ad campaign changed that.

As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million. (thanks for the insight Dan Cooper 4RAME LLC)

Today, we have a number of alternatives to effectively evaluate and treat halitosis, or bad breath. A thorough assessment includes oral chroma, microscopy , BANA testing, pH analysis, salivary quality, nutrition/health history are all steps. Treatments are as varied as the cause, but until you know what the origin of the problem is, masking the odor with sweet smelling rinses is like throwing your money away. Ask a member of our staff about a Fresh Breath Analysis, visit or web site for more information or the fresh breath research and information site that outlines our diagnostic procedures.

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