Missouri appears to have the worst breath in the U.S., showing high rates of tobacco use, missed dental appointments, and heavier alcohol consumption, according to a story and research published by Action Network.
Utah appears to have the lowest prevalence of bad breath in the U.S., with the state ranking among the lowest in nearly every behavioral category, according to the story published on August 12.
Action Network created an index designed to rank all 50 states and Washington, DC, based on factors associated with bad breath. The index considers five equally weighted categories, including tobacco use, missed dental visits, alcohol consumption, and two measures of online searches for bad breath and halitosis.
Each state's overall score was converted into an implied probability representing its estimated chance of having the worst breath in the country. Missouri ranked first, with a 49% implied probability, followed by West Virginia at 41.6%, Kentucky at 40.7%, and Tennessee at 40.4%.
At the other end of the rankings, Utah had the lowest implied probability at just 2.9%. Utah's index score of 17.15 was more than 11 points lower than that of Connecticut, which had the next lowest score at 28.43. Utah's results may be linked to its relatively low rates of tobacco and alcohol use, including an adult tobacco use rate of 8.9% and the nation's lowest per-capita alcohol consumption at 1.21 gallons.
Furthermore, Connecticut, Washington, Vermont, and Idaho followed Utah as the next highest-performing states, with scores ranging from the high 20s to low 30s. Overall, Utah stood out as a clear outlier, with significantly lower bad breath risk indicators than the other states included in the study.
