The Bizarre Psychophysical Effects of Bad Breath: Why It Can Make People Think You Are Literally Going To Kill Them!

The Bizarre Psychophysical Effects of Bad Breath: Why It Can Make People Think You Are Literally Going To Kill Them!

By Tomas Caomhanach

British soul singer Joss Stone has been widely quoted in newspapers and online media as saying that bad breath is her biggest turn-off in a man. 

That's not surprising. In fact, it is a perfectly natural way to feel. And she's not alone either: An extensive survey carried out by the British Dental Association in London some years back found that bad breath was rated the #1 turn-off for everybody, no matter what their age or gender. It was even rated as being worse than stale body odor!

Bad breath isn't just a social issue: Your brain sees
other people's bad breath as a potentially serious threat to your life!

Stone, 24, said: "There is nothing worse than bad breath. I have kissed people with bad breath... and it made me feel sick." And, in all probability, that was not a figure of speech - it really did make her feel physically sick.

That's because of disgust, which is one of the 6 primary human emotions. Normally, we think of emotions as being a purely 'mental' thing but, according to researchers, disgust is quite different: it is often purely physical, involving a sequence of involuntary movements that originally evolved as a way to protect us from sources of disease or infection.

Embarrassing? People feel involuntary disgust towards
other people with bad breath - even their own loved ones!

Because the nose is so close to (and well connected with) the brain, the sense of smell is the primary driver of disgust. The chemical compounds given off by things that can cause disease or infection often have a very distinctive smell, which the human brain recognizes instantly. When it does so, it switches to survival mode right away, and literally forces your body to isolate itself from the source of possible infection.

It does that by making you recoil (which moves you away), scrunching up your nose (which constricts your nasal passages, and stops you breathing in any more noxious smells), and by making you gag (which stops you swallowing anything through your mouth). If you do inhale or swallow too much of those chemicals, you then feel nauseated, and may even vomit (to eject everything you have swallowed from your body).

As it happens, bad breath contains a number of specific chemical compounds that happen to be the SAME as those given off by rotting food, feces, and, believe it or not, dead bodies - all sources of possible infection, and all causes of (sometimes extreme) disgust in every single human being on the planet. If you have bad breath, THAT'S why people recoil, turn away, and step back when you are near them.

That's why it's so sickening. It doesn't matter if the people around you like you - they may even be you own loved ones - their brain still thinks you could literally kill them, and is trying to protect them by making them feel sick and disgusted by you.

And that's why Stone is right: There really is nothing worse than bad breath.

You're going home alone...again!

The Bad Breath Report
Scientifically-Proven Method To
Cure Bad Breath At Home
www.TheBadBreathReport.com

 

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics
http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Gum Disease and Early Diabetes Detection

Gum Disease and Early Diabetes Detection

In many cases it's the dentist - and not the physician - who has the first opportunity to detect diabetes early, because diabetics are especially prone to dental health problems.

Swollen, tender, receding and bleeding gums, loose teeth, and a sore tongue may not just be signs of poor dental hygiene. They may be danger signals for diabetes, too.

If you have any of these symptoms, you may be one of the estimated 11 million people in North America who already have diabetes, or you may be one of the 600,000 who will be diagnosed this year.

Diabetes occurs when a gland called the pancreas fails to produce sufficient amounts of the hormone, insulin, to regulate blood sugar levels. In other words: Diabetics have too little insulin and too much sugar in their blood.

When this happens, the body tissue can't convert the sugar it needs into energy. The blood stream then fills with this unused sugar and the result is diabetes - a disease medical journals often describe as the "forever" disease.

A serious illness which respects neither age, sex, race nor income level, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people 20 to 65 years old and can lead to kidney failure, heart attacks and even death.

But outside the dental community, few people realize that diabetics have more than their share of tooth and periodontal (gum) problems. This fact is especially true for undiagnosed diabetics or those who have failed to control their disease adequately with insulin and/or diet and exercise.

Periodontal disease among diabetics progresses rapidly, recurs frequently, and heals slowly. The resistance to treatment can lead to loosened teeth and premature tooth loss.

Your regular dental office visits provide the best chance for early detection of many health problems, including diabetes. If you have a diabetic tendency, your dentist may very well refer you to your physician - another good reason to keep your prescribed dental recall and dental cleaning appointments faithfully!

If you are diabetic, it's important that you keep your dental health history up-to-date, exercise regularly, and eat a diet that provides good nutrition:

• Have regular meals and snack times. Don't skip meals.
• Avoid sweets (cake, candy, pie, ice cream).
• Limit use of animal fats and trim fat off meats. Avoid butter, cream, egg yolks.
• Bake and broil rather than fry foods.
• Don't use alcohol, wine, or beer without your doctor's permission.
• See your dentist regularly so small dental problems can be taken care of with a local anesthetic.

Teeth don't heal themselves, so small problems turn into big ones if left untreated. Major oral surgery requires a general anesthetic which means "no food prior to surgery" - a problem for diabetics.

Ask your dentist about periodontal disease today! Call our office today at (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941. 

Laser Gum Treatment of Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease is a leading cause of adult tooth loss in the U.S. today. It can progress destructively, often unnoticed, just like undiagnosed hypertension or diabetes.

What if a magic wand or automatic treatment upgrade made a new gum disease treatment available, allowing your periodontist to provide more successful care? A treatment that would eliminate the need for periodontal surgery? What if that care could be provided comfortably and what if it was more easily affordable?

Periodontal procedures like that actually exist today. One is called the dental laser. The laser is an instrument that uses the energy provided from a focused beam of light to very selectively and gently remove delicate infected gum tissue. In the process, the laser's focused beam of light effectively seals off tiny blood vessels (so no bleeding gums!) and nerve endings while instantly stimulating healing. The bacteria causing the infection are actually vaporized!

The dental laser is extremely safe. Protective eyewear represents the chief safety precaution.

Healing is very rapid and uneventful. Secondary infection is nonexistent. There are no dressings to wear or any open wounds. The laser can be used most often with nothing more than topical anesthesia and never more than local anesthesia.

Today in dentistry, a laser is simply the source of a focused beam of light, but maybe it's really actually more of a high tech magic wand.

Ask your dentist about laser gum treatment of periodontal disease today! Call our office today at (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos, (858) 568-8941. 

When Looks, Charm, & Confidence Still Aren't Enough: Why Bad Breath Could Be The Secret Hidden Cause of Virtually All Your Past Dating Failures!

By Tomas Caomhanach

Imagine this: You're a handsome, charming guy. And you're in a bar, chatting up a beautiful girl.

To the casual observer, you seem to have it all: great looks, great hair, great body, and great personality; you seem confident and sure of yourself, saying and doing all the right things. It seems like a slam-dunk; you're definitely going home with her tonight!

But no; she rejects you! You don't even get her phone number. She makes her excuses and slinks away, leaving you standing there,embarrassed and scratching your head, wondering what happened.

So what did happen?

Well, what if I told you that, contrary to how things might appear: she actually found you SO disgusting, on such a fundamental level, that her brain actually thought you were a threat to her life!

Does that sound over the top? Perhaps but, if you have bad breath, as 80-90% of all people do at some point in their lives, it may LITERALLY be true! She may have thought you were very handsome and charming too, but an ancient brain system, originally designed to identify rotten food, literally FORCED her to reject you! The moment it detected your bad breath, the decision not to have anything to do with you was made, probably without her even realizing it.

You see, bad breath contains a number of extremely smelly chemical compounds, including hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs. It also contains methyl mercaptan and skatole, which smell likefeces, as well as cadaverine, which smells like corpses, and putrescine, which smells like rotten meat!

All of these smells have something in common: they evoke disgust, an extreme emotion designed to protect us from things that are unclean, inedible, or infectious. When we feel disgust, our brain tenses muscles in our face called the levator labii. This produces the facial characteristics everybody recognizes as disgust (i.e. a scrunched nose and raised upper lip), which prevents foul odors or stray particles (from whatever caused the disgust) from entering the nose and mouth. Additionally, the brain creates an overwhelming urge to recoil or turn away from the source of disgust in an effort to further isolate the body from any possible contamination.

If you have bad breath, that reaction probably sounds familiar! That's why people turn away... step back... or cover their nose and mouth when you're near them. They can't help it; it doesn't matter if they think you're the greatest person they ever met because, once their brain detects any of these smells, it recognizes them as a potential source of infection and literally FORCES their body to automatically recoil in disgust. In other words: Their brain recognizes your bad breath as a DANGEROUS THREAT to their health and well-being!

So, while you're standing there in the club talking to her, or strutting your stuff on the dance-floor, her brain is screaming at her that you are a source of potential harm, and that she must get away from you as quickly as possible. Even if she's not consciously aware of it, the feeling of great unease and discomfort it causes gets transferred onto you, and you can bet it's going to greatly influence her decision. The end result is still the same though...

You're going home alone...again!

The Bad Breath Report
Scientifically-Proven Method To
Cure Bad Breath At Home
www.TheBadBreathReport.com

 

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics
http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

La Jolla Cosmetic Dentistry: Your Choice for a Dazzling New Smile!

La Jolla Cosmetic Dentistry: Your Choice for a Dazzling New Smile!

Beautiful straight white teeth can change your life, both socially and professionally. If you're suffering with missing, damaged, stained or broken teeth, we have lots of options, including affordable, high-quality Lumineers™-like materials for veneers, tooth-colored composite fillings, natural-looking porcelain dental crowns and bridges and tooth bonding.

Many of our patients report that their results have been quick and dramatic. At LaJolla Periodontics we're ready to schedule appointments at a time that's convenient for you and we offer a range of affordable payment options to fit your budget.
You deserve a dazzling, healthy new smile. Don't wait another moment. Call LaJolla Periodontics at (858) 568-8941 or complete the online form to schedule a consultation with La Jolla cosmetic dentist Dr. Gary Sigafoos.

Veneers: A quick fix for a problem tooth

Change the look of a few teeth with Dr. Sigafoos's cosmetic dentistry solution: porcelain dental veneers! These thin shells of porcelain are a fast way to dramatically change the shape, length, and color of a tooth in as little as two visits! Veneers are comfortable and natural-looking, too!

» Click here - you could be just one click away from discovering if porcelain dental veneers are the answer to your dental problems!

Dental Implants: If you're missing teeth due to injury or illness

Dental implants may be Dr. Sigafoos's cosmetic dentistry answer for you. Implants are the perfect-fit custom teeth permanently anchored into your jaw. They're so natural-looking, no one will ever notice you lost some teeth. Dental implants are only available for those with healthy and mostly in-tact oral tissues and jawbone ridges, so not all tooth loss patients may qualify, but Dr. Sigafoos will find a cosmetic dentistry procedure for you!

» Click here and learn more about the qualifications for dental implants!

Porcelain Crowns: OtGo natural with porcelain crowns

Fractured or damaged teeth may need a cap, also called a crown. For a natural look that can also improve your smile, Dr. Sigafoos may suggest that porcelain crowns are the way to go. Instead of the dark metal line you used to see, a porcelain crown only reveals healthy white teeth.

» Click here to see the beauty of porcelain crowns!

Dental bonding: the simple solution.

Bonding is the perfect solution when you have an individual tooth that has been broken, traumatized, or damaged. Dr. Sigafoos will use a special bonding material that looks and feels like natural tooth enamel which is then sculpted to repair your imperfect tooth. Bonding is an affordable, quick, and painless way to go.

» Click here to see the difference bonding can make.

Tooth-colored restorations: No more "metal mouth"

At LaJolla Periodontics, we can free you from "metal mouth" forever by replacing old metal fillings with lovely new tooth-colored composite fillings. Do you ever feel like people are looking at your dental work instead of your healthy white smile? Let Dr. Sigafoos get rid of your old fillings. And don't worry: your new natural-looking dental work won't wear down other teeth.

» Click here for an exciting example of tooth-colored restorations!

Teeth Whitening: Brighten teeth that have lost their sparkle

At LaJolla Periodontics, we can treat discolored, stained, or aging teeth with our proven whitening process. Best of all, the treatment can be completed in a few visits. A dazzling smile isn't just for celebrities any more. It's for you, too, because you're worth it.
» Click here to see the exciting results tooth whitening can bring to your smile!

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos, (858) 568-8941. 

La Jolla Sedation Dentistry Eases Dental Phobia

La Jolla Sedation Dentistry Eases Dental Phobia

Once you've visited us at LaJolla Periodontics, you'll never be afraid to go to the dentist again. La Jolla sedation dentistry practitioner, Dr. Gary Sigafoos, will help you select the right sedation option for you. Your fear and anxiety will melt away as he restores your healthy smile.

Whether it's been six months or six years since your last dental visit, we can often correct any damage or decay in just a single visit or two. He can even whiten stained or discolored teeth during your appointment. Imagine feeling completely relaxed, with no fear of discomfort, and leaving our office with a healthy, sparkling smile.

Sedation Dentistry: A Safe, Effective Way to Calm Your Fears

It may sound too good to be true, but at LaJolla Periodontics, sedation dentistry with Dr. Gary Sigafoos really does help you relax through your entire visit. There are no needles involved; you simply take a small pill prior to your visit.
The great news is that whatever makes you uncomfortable about the dentist’s office — sights, sounds, or smells — you won’t notice them during your visit or be affected by them after you’re finished. And there’s no need to worry that the pill will wear off before Dr. Sigafoos is done; it provides up to six hours of complete comfort.
Even if you’ve been putting off dental visits for years, Dr. Sigafoos and the professional team at LaJolla Periodontics can restore your mouth to good oral health in as little as one visit. Because you’re relaxed and at ease, it’s also easier for the numbing medication to take effect if a procedure is required. Comfort, relaxation, and a healthy mouth — all courtesy of sedation dentistry at LaJolla Periodontics in La Jolla, CA.

If you are struggling with a dental phobia, why wait another moment? Call our office today at (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941. 

Looking for Dental Implants in La Jolla?

Looking for Dental Implants in La Jolla?

Now you can replace one or more damaged or missing teeth with La Jolla dentist Dr. Gary Sigafoos. Modern dental implants look and function as if they were your own original teeth. Each replacement tooth can be permanently replaced, anchored into the jaw itself, offering a more natural alternative to a dental bridge or the need for dentures. 

If you have a healthy strong jawbone and healthy gums, you are likely a great candidate for tooth implants. During the procedure, the dentist inserts a metal anchor into the jawbone. The two fuse together to form a permanent bond. Later, an artificial tooth or crown is attached, leaving your smile looking 100% natural.

At LaJolla Periodontics we know that many of our patients are concerned about the cost of dental implants. Please don't let that prevent you from considering this natural-looking, comfortable and permanent solution to damaged, diseased or missing teeth. Our friendly staff will be pleased to explain a wide range of affordable financial options to fit your budget.

Want to learn more about the benefits of implant dentistry? Call us now at (858) 568-8941 or complete our simple online form to schedule a consultation. We're dedicated to providing you with affordable, top-quality dental care.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941. 

Bleeding Gums

Bleeding Gums

If you have bleeding gums, you may have periodontal disease. We're learning more about this common infection all the time. Below are some of the latest findings. It should help you understand why it's so important that you take action with your periodontist to eliminate periodontal disease, the sooner the better.

Some patients think swollen gums aren't as critical as tooth decay, but that's just not so. Periodontal disease begins as a minor infection and, if it doesn't show signs of stabilizing, is bound to get worse. Untreated, it can eventually result in tooth loss.

Type I periodontitis (gingivitis) consists of tender gums and a little bacteria-filled pocket between your tooth and gum. The disease is very treatable at this point. But if the infected pockets are allowed to enlarge, the inflammation extends to the bone beneath, which begins to erode.

There's another reason to take periodontal disease seriously. The Journal of the American Dental Association recently reported on a study of nonsmokers. Researchers found that periodontal disease was a stronger risk factor for heart disease than such typical symptoms as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Also, periodontitis in pregnant mothers has been linked to premature and low birth-weight babies.

Your periodontist's concerns for your health don't stop with your teeth. That's why it's important, if you're suffering from gingivitis, that you schedule an appointment and get it treated. When you do, make sure you let your dentist know if you are also being treated for heart disease by your medical doctor.

Call LaJolla Periodontics today at (858) 568-8941 to find out how we can help you prevent and treat bleeding gums. Your teeth and gums will thank you!

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.