Word of Mouth Benefits New York Breath Consultant

Forget about fear of dying or fear of making a commitment. What people really fear is having bad breath.

That’s why Carol Meyer is making a living as a personal breath consultant in New York. For $125, she offers what she calls a breath make-over, “just like a facial make-over,” for people who otherwise could be missing out on good jobs, promotions or relationships.

One patient was a top telecommunications executive who had grown so terrified of having bad breath that he stopped delivering the speeches that were integral to his job. “He insisted the room smelled like his breath and that he saw people sniffing,” Meyer said. “People start to develop a phobia.”

Some of Meyer’s patients are so mortified that they refuse to give their names when they make an appointment. Others telephone her, puzzled, because her phone number was left anonymously on their desks.

“You’ll hear people say, ‘I used to be a drug addict,’ before they’ll say, ‘I used to have bad breath,’ ” said Meyer, who practices as much psychology as dental hygiene in her work.

The vast majority of her patients are financial traders and brokers who work on Wall Street, which she calls a bastion of bad breath. “They’re stockbrokers on the floor, yelling and screaming all day long. They don’t have time to eat. They don’t have time to brush,” she said. “At the end of the day, they have a problem with their breath.”

The cause can be bacteria, faulty dental work, a head cold, diabetes, coffee, heart disease, antibiotics, hormonal changes, gum disease, stress or even tonsils. The treatment is usually simple--regular use of a tongue scraper or a bacteria-killing toothpaste and rinse.

Meyer tries to tailor her treatments to her patients’ harried lifestyles, advising them to “at least take some toothpaste and stick it under your tongue and squish it around.”

“Everybody’s looking for a quick, efficient fix,” she said.

A dental hygienist for 22 years, Meyer launched her personal breath consultancy last year. She does not advertise but relies on, yes, word of mouth.

When she tells people what she does, they laugh. “Then they say, ‘I know somebody who needs you,’ ” she said.

She uses two instruments to make her diagnoses--a gas sensor and a computerized gum thermometer. The sensor detects sulfur compounds, a byproduct of bacteria in the mouth.

A reading of less than 175 is typical; a reading over 200 means that it’s time to visit a personal breath consultant.