I love to go out dancing a lot, and one of the things that I watch out for before I head out, is to make sure that my breath is smelling fresh. There’s nothing that scares a girl away quicker on the dance floor than smelling like last night’s burrito (although doing the chicken dance comes close).

There are a couple of different options when it comes to keeping your breath fresh, and one that sounds pretty promising are breath capsules. Breath capsules are mint-covered gel capsules, made from parsley seed oil and other natural ingredients.

Breath capsules are taken after a meal, and supposedly keep your breath feeling fresh “from the inside out” for up to six hours. But do they really work?

Unfortunately, they don’t. Studies have shown that taking breath capsules, or any other type of pill, will not do anything to make your breath smell better. Bad breath is caused by food particles that are stuck in your mouth, along with the odor that is released when the bacteria in your mouth digests this food. Taking a pill doesn’t solve that. Also, breath capsules, and other breath mints contain sugar, which just helps feed the bacteria in your mouth, and makes things worse.

So if breath capsules don’t work, what’s the best solution? If you have the time, the best thing to do is to brush with a toothbrush. Brushing your teeth removes the odor causing food particles and bacteria from your mouth, freshening up your breath. Make sure to floss as well, and use a tongue scraper and mouth wash to really get a full clean.

If you’re on the go, and need to freshen up your breath in a hurry, stick to sugar-free gum and breath mints. These will help give your mouth a minty smell, without feeding the bacteria. Some gums even have a mild benefit as well, so chewing those gums will help keep your mouth clean and fresh.

The bottom line is: the best way to keep your mouth smelling fresh is to clean it, and stay away from the sugars and breath capsules!

-Takeshi, shopping blogger and breath freshener