RTL Weekend Magazine about bad breath and the Virgin Experience

On July 31, RTL Weekend Magazine published an article about the social consequences of bad breath and how to remedy this. Various specialists and experiential experts were interviewed, amongst them the Virgin Experience of our onze high class escortservice. The escorts available for the Virgin Experience sometimes have to deal with clients with bad breath. Besides that the escort teaches the client how to become a good lover, she will also subtly address how the client can remedy things like bad breath. The article was published in Dutch but below you can find a summary in English.

Bad breath? 'Burn down the gas factory'

About one in eight people have bad breath, but there is still a taboo on discussing. 'Shame', says Halitologist Edwin Winkel. 'The problem is easy to solve for the majority of patients.' And that is also nice for the people around them.

After a good night out with a shawarma sandwich with garlic sauce, everyone likes to keep away during a chat. But about 8 percent of the Dutch smells chronically out of his mouth, also known as halitosis. This condition is no fun. It may seem especially hard for bystanders of people with a malodorous breath - there is even a Day of the Fresh Breath: on August 6, we are all encouraged to hand out mints and to address each other in a friendly and subtle way about their mouth odor.

But patients themselves suffer the most. "You're so embarrassed," says Sietske Kasje in a EenVandaag broadcast. "You are always afraid that someone else smells you." Her children and husband drew attention to Sietske's bad breath. "I did not dare leave the door without chewing gum, I tried everything, from parsley to mouthwash, but nothing helped. I work in care for the elderly. One day a lady said to me: 'Sietske, your breath smells.' I felt mortified."

For people like Sietske, Halitologist Edwin Winkel, associated with the Kliniek voor Parodontologie in Amsterdam, founded the bad-respiratory clinic twenty years ago. "Every week I get crying patients in my chair, they are desperate, they no longer dare to talk to people or enter into a relationship." The clinic is desperately needed, according to the expert, because there are still many misunderstandings about bad breath. Even among doctors. "A bad breath would come from the stomach, because the stomach valve does not work, but that is not possible at all, the gullet is nicely closed." Because of this misconception patients are wrongly prescribed antacids or even a colonic irrigation. Another fixed idea: bad breath comes from the pharynx or the lungs. "That is possible, but they are really exceptions," says Winkel.

Breathtest: During the bad respiratory consultation, Halitoloog Winkel makes three measurements to signal whether someone smells out of his mouth and where the smell comes from. A correct diagnosis is decisive for the treatment.
The nose: By smelling, the expert signals whether someone smells from the nose and / or mouth or both. If the smell comes from the nose, it usually concerns an ENT problem. A smell of smell from nose and mouth indicates a problem in the lungs.
Halimeter: This device collects all sulfur gases. The result gives an indication of the degree of bad breath.
Oral Chroma-meter: This device measures all gases separately. This way you can identify where the problem is.

A smelling breath almost always occurs in the mouth itself, the so-called intra-oral halitosis. Some of the cause can be found with inflamed gums and unkempt teeth. But the biggest culprit is bacterial plaque on the back of the tongue. Winkel: "About fifty percent of mouth bacteria are on your tongue. In a kind of white yellow paste or tongue coating are bacteria that produce the smelly gasses, you have to see this as a gas factory. Just like in the gut, these 'good' bacteria are used for digestion and convert food residues into gases such as hydrogen sulphide. These provide - just like farting - a pungent rotten egg smell."

Against the farts of this gas factory a mint stands no chance. Winkel is therefore annoyed by advertisements for mouth fresheners. "It gives a distorted picture that a tasty taste is equivalent to a fresh breath, but those two things have nothing to do with each other: you can have a delicious taste and yet stink out of your mouth and vice versa." Winkel therefore does not recommend the use of mouth fresheners. "They often contain sugars that stimulate the growth of bacteria."

What does it help? If you know where your bad breath comes from, you can make a plan of action.
Teeth: Dental plaque and holes can be remedied by the dentist and dental hygienist. After that it is important to clean between the teeth, brush and visit the dentist.
Gums: Treat inflamed gums (periodontitis) by a dentist or dental hygienist.
Tongue: Treat the tongue coating with a tongue scraper.
Lungs: Allow yourself to be referred to a specialist.
Sinuses such as nose or throat: An ENT doctor can help you further.

Winkel states that the majority of halitosis patients are helped with a tongue scraper. "Scrape the tongue five times in the morning and evening, breaking down the gas plant and the unpleasant smell of the mouth will disappear." In addition, it is important to keep drinking plenty of water; a high saliva production keeps the gas plant in check. With a small percentage, scraping and drinking water is not sufficient and additional gargling with a mouthwash is required. "Do not use mouthwashes with alcohol, but for example a proven tool like Halita." Gorgel while you stick out your tongue. This way the mouthwash reaches the entire tongue coating.

Bad breath is therefore relatively easy to correct, but halitosis patients are usually not aware of their own mouth odor. Winkel: "You can compare this with wearing a wedding ring, you will not feel it after six weeks, the stimulus will be extinguished, and the same applies to your body's own scents like your breath or sweat." Only someone else can alert you to your mouth odor. And that is a problem, because we often do not dare to. We feel uncomfortable or are afraid of hurting another person. Winkel finds that a shame. "You can discuss all about sex, but bad breath is taboo. But tell me: would not you think it's terrible if people avoided you because of your mouth odor without knowing it yourself? Just mention it and come up with a solution."

And that may work fine, turned out when we asked on social media if someone had experience with speaking to others about bad breath. We received an answer from an unexpected angle. Marike van der Velden is founder and owner of escort agency Society Service. "We offer a Virgin Experience for men with little or no sexual experience. Despite clear instructions regarding personal hygiene, it sometimes happens that such a man smells out of his mouth. Not very pleasant for the lady in question. But also not for the man who tries to learn through such an experience. Our policy is therefore that the escort should talk to him about this." According to Van der Velden, the search for the perfect way to bring this up has not ended yet. With one person a subtle joke is enough, with the other the news has to be brought very carefully but clearly. "Nobody likes to hear he has bad breath, but in general the approached men take the advice to heart. They really do not know this about themselves. We recommend scraping the tongue and flossing more often, brushing teeth and drinking enough water. And that helps! At the next visit the smell is considerably different. That gives such a man self-confidence."

This is how to do a good scraping. Do not scrape your tongue more often than prescribed: "This will only make the tongue rougher, resulting in a faster build-up of tongue coating." After scraping, do not worry about building a new coating. "Patients are afraid to smell from their mouth as soon as plaque appears on the tongue again. But the factory is still broken, there are no gases coming out as long as you break it in the morning and evening with a tongue scraper. "Think of the middle of the tongue. "You can get a gagging reflex from most tongue scrapers. This results in skipping the middle of the tongue, also called 'the valley of death', so you still have a bad breath." Regarding a tongue scraper, Winkel recommends the Scrapy, which allows you to clean the death valley without gagging.