this invention provides a method of alleviating a condition of halitosis in a person , the method comprising contacting the person &# 39 ; s oral cavity , typically by ingesting an aqueous solution containing an effective amount of dissolved oxygen . the solution , typically a beverage , of this invention , will contain dissolved oxygen in an amount effective to reduce halitosis . these amounts will be concentrations sufficient to inhibit the anaerobic bacteria and stimulate the aerobic bacteria in the oral cavity of those individuals suffering from halitosis . typically , dissolved oxygen will be present at a concentration of from about 20 to about 1000 mg / l , preferably about 40 to 400 mg / l . the method of dissolving supersaturated concentrations of oxygen into a solution can apply to virtually any aqueous solution , such as a beverage . water ; mineral water ; water with added flavoring agents such as mint , lemon , citrus oils , and sweeteners ; tea ; herbal teas ; fruit juices ; coffee ; cola ; root beer and mouthwash are examples of beverages with or without carbonation , which can be supersaturated with oxygen in order to produce the desired benefit of reducing halitosis caused by anaerobic bacteria in the oral cavity . a problem arises in that oxygen in a beverage can support microbial growth within the beverage . if the beverage is consumed within a short time ( on the order of an hour or less ) of the addition of oxygen , there is little reason for concern about microbial growth . however , if a beverage is to be bottled with oxygen present , especially supersaturated concentrations of oxygen , then it is necessary that the beverage and the container be completely sterile ( absent of any microbes , including bacteria , fungi , and algae ). the aqueous medium is generally prefiltered to remove bacteria , treated with an antibacterial agent , or can be heated for sterilization . alternatively , since ozone is a strong oxidant and disinfectant that decomposes into molecular oxygen upon storage in solution , it is the preferred source of oxygenation . the invention also provides a method of forming a sealed , pressurized aqueous solution containing a supersaturated concentration of dissolved oxygen . the method comprises : ( a ) passing a stream of pressurized ozonized oxygen into an aqueous solution in a container until the dissolved oxygen concentration reaches a predetermined pressurized level above saturation ; and supersaturated concentrations of dissolved oxygen are those above the maximum that will occur naturally given a specific water temperature and atmospheric pressure . table 1 gives the saturated concentrations for dissolved over a range of temperatures and pressures . table 1__________________________________________________________________________dissolved - oxygen concentration in water as a function of temperature andbarometricpressure ( salinity = 0 ppt ). sup . adissolved - oxygen concentration , mg / lbarometric pressure , millimeters of mercurytemp .° c . 735 740 745 750 755 760 765 770 775 780__________________________________________________________________________0 14 . 12 14 . 22 14 . 31 14 . 41 14 . 51 14 . 60 14 . 70 14 . 80 14 . 89 14 . 991 13 . 73 13 . 82 13 . 92 14 . 01 14 . 10 14 . 20 14 . 29 14 . 39 14 . 48 14 . 572 13 . 36 13 . 45 13 . 54 13 . 63 13 . 72 13 . 81 13 . 90 14 . 00 14 . 09 14 . 183 13 . 00 13 . 09 13 . 18 13 . 27 13 . 36 13 . 45 13 . 53 13 . 62 13 . 71 13 . 804 12 . 66 12 . 75 12 . 83 12 . 92 13 . 01 13 . 09 13 . 18 13 . 27 13 . 35 13 . 445 12 . 33 12 . 42 12 . 50 12 . 59 12 . 67 12 . 76 12 . 84 12 . 93 13 . 01 13 . 106 12 . 02 12 . 11 12 . 19 12 . 27 12 . 35 12 . 44 12 . 52 12 . 60 12 . 68 12 . 777 11 . 72 11 . 80 11 . 89 11 . 97 12 . 05 12 . 13 12 . 21 12 . 29 12 . 37 12 . 458 11 . 44 11 . 52 11 . 60 11 . 67 11 . 75 11 . 83 11 . 91 11 . 99 12 . 07 12 . 159 11 . 16 11 . 24 11 . 32 11 . 40 11 . 47 11 . 55 11 . 63 11 . 70 11 . 78 11 . 8610 10 . 90 10 . 98 11 . 05 11 . 13 11 . 20 11 . 28 11 . 35 11 . 43 11 . 50 11 . 5811 10 . 65 10 . 72 10 . 80 10 . 87 10 . 94 11 . 02 11 . 09 11 . 16 11 . 24 11 . 3112 10 . 41 10 . 48 10 . 55 10 . 62 10 . 69 10 . 77 10 . 84 10 . 91 10 . 98 11 . 0513 10 . 17 10 . 24 10 . 31 10 . 38 10 . 46 10 . 53 10 . 60 10 . 67 10 . 74 10 . 8114 9 . 95 10 . 02 10 . 09 10 . 16 10 . 23 10 . 29 10 . 36 10 . 43 10 . 50 10 . 5715 9 . 73 9 . 80 9 . 87 9 . 94 10 . 00 10 . 07 10 . 14 10 . 21 10 . 27 10 . 3416 9 . 53 9 . 59 9 . 66 9 . 73 9 . 79 9 . 86 9 . 92 9 . 99 10 . 06 10 . 1217 9 . 33 9 . 39 9 . 46 9 . 52 9 . 59 9 . 65 9 . 72 9 . 78 9 . 85 9 . 9118 9 . 14 9 . 20 9 . 26 9 . 33 9 . 39 9 . 45 9 . 52 9 . 58 9 . 64 9 . 7119 8 . 95 9 . 01 9 . 07 9 . 14 9 . 20 9 . 26 9 . 32 9 . 39 9 . 45 9 . 5120 8 . 77 8 . 83 8 . 89 8 . 95 9 . 02 9 . 08 9 . 14 9 . 20 9 . 26 9 . 3221 8 . 60 8 . 66 8 . 72 8 . 78 8 . 84 8 . 90 8 . 96 9 . 02 9 . 08 9 . 1422 8 . 43 8 . 49 8 . 55 8 . 61 8 . 67 8 . 73 8 . 79 8 . 84 8 . 90 8 . 9623 8 . 27 8 . 33 8 . 39 8 . 44 8 . 50 8 . 56 8 . 62 8 . 68 8 . 73 8 . 7924 8 . 11 8 . 17 8 . 23 8 . 29 8 . 34 8 . 40 8 . 46 8 . 51 8 . 57 8 . 6325 7 . 96 8 . 02 8 . 08 8 . 13 8 . 19 8 . 24 8 . 30 8 . 36 8 . 41 8 . 4726 7 . 82 7 . 87 7 . 93 7 . 98 8 . 04 8 . 09 8 . 15 8 . 20 8 . 26 8 . 3127 7 . 68 7 . 73 7 . 79 7 . 84 7 . 89 7 . 95 8 . 00 8 . 06 8 . 11 8 . 1728 7 . 54 7 . 59 7 . 65 7 . 70 7 . 75 7 . 81 7 . 86 7 . 91 7 . 97 8 . 0229 7 . 41 7 . 46 7 . 51 7 . 57 7 . 62 7 . 67 7 . 72 7 . 78 7 . 83 7 . 8830 7 . 28 7 . 33 7 . 38 7 . 44 7 . 49 7 . 54 7 . 59 7 . 64 7 . 69 7 . 7531 7 . 16 7 . 21 7 . 26 7 . 31 7 . 36 7 . 41 7 . 46 7 . 51 7 . 46 7 . 6232 7 . 04 7 . 09 7 . 14 7 . 19 7 . 24 7 . 29 7 . 34 7 . 39 7 . 44 7 . 4933 6 . 92 6 . 97 7 . 02 7 . 07 7 . 12 7 . 17 7 . 22 7 . 27 7 . 31 7 . 3634 6 . 80 6 . 85 6 . 90 6 . 95 7 . 00 7 . 05 7 . 10 7 . 15 7 . 20 7 . 2435 6 . 69 6 . 74 6 . 79 6 . 84 6 . 89 6 . 93 6 . 98 7 . 03 7 . 08 7 . 1336 6 . 59 6 . 63 6 . 68 6 . 73 6 . 78 6 . 82 6 . 87 6 . 92 6 . 97 7 . 0137 6 . 48 6 . 53 6 . 57 6 . 62 6 . 67 6 . 72 6 . 76 6 . 81 6 . 86 6 . 9038 6 . 38 6 . 43 6 . 47 6 . 52 6 . 56 6 . 61 6 . 66 6 . 70 6 . 75 6 . 8039 6 . 28 6 . 33 6 . 37 6 . 42 6 . 46 6 . 51 6 . 56 6 . 60 6 . 65 6 . 6940 6 . 18 6 . 23 6 . 27 6 . 32 6 . 36 6 . 41 6 . 46 6 . 50 6 . 55 6 . 59__________________________________________________________________________ from colt , j . : &# 34 ; computation of dissolved gas concentrations in water as functions of temperature , salinity , and pressure ,&# 34 ; american fisheries society special publication 14 , bethesda , md , 1984 note : ppt = parts per thousand the container is tightly sealed so that the supersaturated oxygen cannot leak out . the container is usually made of glass or plastic , or other materials used by vendors of soft drinks , and the bottling process is similar to those for carbonated beverages . typically , the solution is stored under a slight positive pressure of 2 . 0 to 6 . 0 atmospheres , since this increases the solubility of dissolved oxygen . the clinical effectiveness of oxygenated beverages in reducing halitosis as measured by a halimeter ( interscan corporation , chatsworth , calif .) is illustrated by the results described in the following table 2 : table 2__________________________________________________________________________ average oral average oral volatile sulfur volatile sulfur compound compound average initial concentration , as concentration , as oral volatile parts per billion parts per billion sulfur compound of hydrogen of hydrogen concentration , as sulfide in air , 5 sulfide in air , 30 parts per billion minutes after minutes after number of of hydrogen ingesting 12 ingesting 12 subjects sulfide in air ounces of water ounces of water__________________________________________________________________________control : 5 130 80 103tap water chilled to32 degrees ftap water chilled to 5 130 65 7032 degrees f andsupersaturated with pure oxygenat a gauge pressure of 50pounds per square inch__________________________________________________________________________ it is to be noted that the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds found to be offensive varies upon the olfactory sensitivity of the individual being offended . however , concentrations of approximately 100 parts per billion in air typically are offensive to most individuals at a range from the source of approximately 18 inches , especially upon exhalation by the offending party . the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example , for purposes of clarity and understanding . it will be obvious to one of skill in the art that changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims . therefore , it is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive . the scope of the invention should , therefore , be determined not with reference to the above description , but should instead be determined with reference to the following appended claims , along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . all patents , patent applications and publications cited in this application are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual patent , patent application or publication were so individually denoted .
the invention provides oxygenated solutions , such as beverages , useful for the alleviation of halitosis . further provided are methods of using these solutions in remediating mouth odor .