Bad breath hampers confidence, job performance

In today's competitive job market, confidence is key. However, a recent study found that many young professionals worry that their breath isn't up to par, and that halitosis may harm them in their career.

The survey, which was conducted by Dentyne Pure, found that almost half of professionals between the ages of 22 and 29 say that having noticeably bad breath diminishes their self-confidence, which can interfere with their ability to do their job.

The problem is compounded by the fact that 91 percent of the survey's respondents admitted that they are more likely to tell someone else about a coworker's bad breath problem than to tell the person with halitosis.

"In environments that are heavy on social interactions, such as the workplace, it's easy to suddenly find yourself lacking confidence in a matter of moments," said Gary Osifchin, brand director of Dentyne. "According to our survey results, less than four in ten young office workers are able to say they're extremely confident professionally."

Bad breath can be extremely off-putting in an office setting, as a majority of professionals reported that they would rather share an office space with a loud phone talker than with a person who has bad breath.