New clinic a breath of fresh air

While many dentists are looking to jump on the cosmetic dentistry bandwagon, Dr Geoffrey Speiser took the opportunity of Dental Health Week in August to launch the Australian Bad Breath Clinic to tackle what he believes is of far more concern to the public.

Whilst statistics on the number of Australians who suffer from halitosis is not readily available, anecdotally, it's a condition that once confronted with is decidedly hard to ignore. Having treated over 5,000 clients at his Sydney-based dental practice, Dr Speiser is very aware of the scale of the problem. As bad breath can be indicative of a more serious dental or systemic health problem, its presence should be investigated to rule out any issues. Dr Speiser said that the social implications of the problem are also quite severe, with sufferers often completely unsure as to why they are being shunned or rejected.

"Up until now, bad breath has almost been a taboo subject and we are hoping that the launch of The Australian Bad Breath Clinic will go some way in helping people tackle the problem and increase community awareness of what solutions are available out there," Dr Speiser said.

As a respected dentist of 25 years, Dr Speiser was at a loss to help patients with long-term chronic bad breath. Products on the market merely masked the condition rather than providing any long term relief. In 1997 he began work with researchers in New Zealand to develop a breath system to tackle the problem, two years later launching the BreezeCare professional treatment onto the Australian market. Breeze is now recognised as one of the leading brands of dentally-prescribed breath products available in Australia.

It was in 2004, however, that Dr Speiser became the first person to introduce oral care probiotics into the Australian and UK market with a professional range called KForce. This product contains Streptococcus Salivarius K12; the naturally occurring mouth bacteria found to assist in the long-term treatment of bad breath.

The Australian Bad Breath Clinic is a revolutionary concept in Australia. Assessments at the clinic comprise of a personalised lifestyle examination, saliva quality testing, breath testing and dental examination (if necessary) to determine the best possible treatment.