Chiropractor

Health & Fitness

Halitosis?

'Bad Breath Guru' Dr. Harold Katz
comes to the rescue.

One-Hour
Swedish Massage
by
Marsha, CMT

Harry Kirsbaum
Staff Writer

(First time clients only.
Gift Certificates excluded)

a

Gentle & Personalized Treatment

Specializing in

Neck & Shoulder Pain • Back & Hip Pain • Headaches
Sciatica • Disc Problems • Arm & Leg Pain
Auto Accidents • TMJ • Prenatal Care
Sports Injuries • Wellness Care

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Be Well Chiropractic Center

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SE corner 12 Mile & Farmington

---

248-489-4044

www.bewellchiropractic.com

11 7 9 60

I

t all started in 1993 when his

daughter complained about her
bad breath in high school.
Dr. Harold Katz, a Beverly Hills, Calif.,
dentist with a degree in bacteriology
from UCLA, tested the coating on her
. tongue and discovered an overabun-
dance of a common type of bacteria. He
went to work to solve her problem; and
now he's become the "Bad Breath Guru
to the Stare,' with his own product line
of toothpaste, oral washes, breath strips,
dental floss and a pamphlet called the
"Bad Breath Bible."
"There are a lot of people with bad
breath:' he said during a one-day media
blitz, where he talked about onions, gar-
lic, saliva, anaerobic bacteria and gum
disease — fun stuff for a dentist.
And there are several different causes
for bad breath, he said, including

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42

October 26 • 2006

Dr. Katz with garlic and onions, his

breath machine and his products

"chronic halitosis, which is bacterial in
nature, with bugs in back of the tongue
and throat and tonsil area that produce
the odors."
Bad breath also can come from food,
"Avoid onions, garlic, coffee, dairy prod-
ucts, any very dense protein — these
foods can lead to bad breath',' he said.
"Atkins-type diets [yield] severe bad
breath because those foods already con-
tain sulfur compounds. You're more or
less giving yourself bad breath."
Dry mouth also is a problem.
"Bacteria will produce more odors
when the mouth is dry; and you don't
produce saliva when you'fe sleeping',' he
said, explaining typical bad morning
breath.
And stay away from combining cof-
fee and smoking, he said. "It's like a
nuclear bomb; it's real bad because of
the dryness!'
Treat the bacteria and you don't have
to worry about bad breath, he said. Don't
believe the myths. Bad breath doesn't
come from the stomach, and thinking

that a colonic can get rid of bad breath
"is a bunch of nonsense."
People need to drink more water,
about six glasses a day, brush their teeth
for two minutes, not the average of 13
seconds, and floss.
Dr. Katz has numerous kosher prod:
ucts that help improve your breath. His
line is available at most chain drugs
stores, Wal-Mart and Meijer.
Dr. Katz, an Orthodox Jew, considers
his life's work a mitzvah.
"In the Talmud, it mentions that if a
husband has a wife who has bad breath,
he's allowed to divorce her — so we're
saving marriages:' he quipped.

Kissing Scenes

A story in the Los Angeles Times start-
ed the ball rolling about 10 years ago
wherihis practice in Century City, next
to 20th Century Fox Studios, drew a few
soap opera actors "who would stop by
the office as sort of a joke before a kiss-
ing scene to see if they had bad breath,"
he said.
As word spread that the clinic was
helping people with bad breath, the rich
and famous started to appear.
"We have a couple of Las Vegas singers
who fly in now',' he said. "It's bizarre. We
had someone from a sit-corn come in all
the time
In 1998, he opened a breath clinic
in Japan with 50 dentists doing breath
treatment.
"They're very finicky about odors in
Japan',' he said. "Some use my toothpaste
as underarm deodorant."
Dr. Katz appeared on The View with
Barbara Walters. "She smells good' he
said.
He's been on Donnie and Marie, too.
"They both smell good, although Marie
smells better than Donnie'
. A regular visit at his clinics runs $165,
but Dr. Katz will return to Detroit for a
free clinic on Nov. 13 at a Meijer store to
be announced on his Web site:
wwwtherabreath.com.
He will have his trusty breath machine
at his side to measure the badness of
your breath — and to offer suggestions,
if needed.
And if you want to test your own
breath, don't breathe into your palm and
smell that."You'll only be smelling your
hand," Dr. Katz said. The best way, he
says, is to lick the top of your hand, then
wave your hand in front of your nose
and inhale. L I

