--- description: A new invention prevents embarrassment by detecting bad breath. title: This Gadget Will Tell You if You Have Bad Breath image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7787fa2df7efde52/698778eaa988ca4b8f6abc89/fwx-breathometer-mint.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Gadget Will Tell You if You Have Bad Breath by [Noah Kaufman / Food & Wine](/author/food-wine-2/) ## Noah Kaufman / Food & Wine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2015 7:43 PM CUT  Breathometer Breathometer©Breathometer by [Noah Kaufman / Food & Wine](/author/food-wine-2/) ## Noah Kaufman / Food & Wine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 8, 2015 7:43 PM CUT We’ve all been there before—about to go on a date or into an important business meeting and suddenly self-conscious about those garlic knots from the night before. A new invention aims to ID bad morning, garlic or any other type of unwanted breath before it escapes. Created by the people behind [Breathometer](https://www.breathometer.com/ "undefined") and the first smartphone-connected breathalyzer, The Mint is a tiny contraption that can measure the volatile sulfur compounds—like hydrogen sulfide—that are some of the major drivers of bad breath. The device sends results to an app on your phone to warn you if you need to pop an entire pack of gum in your mouth. It will also keep track of your breath history and let you know how your eating habits are affecting your breath. More than just a stink-checker, Mint can also score your hydration level by measuring the amount of moisture on your mucus membrane, which is one of the first parts of your body to be affected by dehydration. It’s not a perfect tool—the Mint’s censors won’t measure the compounds in cigarettes, for example. So theoretically you could go around smelling like an ashtray and not know it. Although, if you just smoked, you probably don’t need a machine to tell you that. The Mint should be available this summer, but if you want to start getting a handle on your stanky breath sooner, you can sign up for their beta program on their [Indiegogo page](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/breathometer-mint-for-breath-quality-and-hydration "undefined") and test an early version of the Mint this spring. _This_ [_article_](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/secrets/breathalyzer-company-will-now-judge-quality-your-breath "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_FWx.com_](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/ "undefined")_._ _More from FWx.com:_ * [3 Scientifically Proven Ways to Get Rid of Garlic Breath](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/secrets/3-scientifically-proven-ways-get-rid-garlic-breath?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") * [7 Just-Unveiled Gadgets for the Food-Obsessed](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/style/7-just-unveiled-gadgets-food-obsessed?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") * [7 Questions for the Inventor of DrinkMate, a Tiny Breathalyzer](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/secrets/7-questions-inventor-drinkmate-tiny-breathalyzer?xid=PS%5Ftime "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3659721/bad-breath-detector/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3659721/bad-breath-detector/"},"headline":"This Gadget Will Tell You if You Have Bad Breath","datePublished":"2015-01-08T19:43:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:33.365Z","description":"A new invention prevents embarrassment by detecting bad breath","url":"https://time.com/3659721/bad-breath-detector/","keywords":["Living","health","food and drink","Inventions"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7787fa2df7efde52/698778eaa988ca4b8f6abc89/fwx-breathometer-mint.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Kaufman / Food & Wine"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7787fa2df7efde52/698778eaa988ca4b8f6abc89/fwx-breathometer-mint.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"fwx-breathometer-mint","caption":"fwx-breathometer-mint","creditText":"©Breathometer","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3659721/bad-breath-detector/","name":"This Gadget Will Tell You if You Have Bad Breath"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What Causes Garlic Breath?","description":"From the American Chemical Society","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SjeOdV0s/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-09T19:32:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SjeOdV0s.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3659721/bad-breath-detector/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3659721/bad-breath-detector/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```