Who would have thought that the pandemic would lead to fresher breath?  It’s counter-intuitive in a social distancing paradigm in which hygiene seems to be an afterthought.  But it’s true.  The catalyst is one of the most human of qualities: selfishness!  Enter face masks.  Now that we are all wearing them, there is no escaping our own breath.  We have a double dose of what others have been smelling from our mouth for years.  And, for some, it is a disappointing surprise and a motivation to act.  As a result, mouthwash and breath mints are leaving store shelves at record pace.  And this is good news for if and when we can once again breath on each other.  Now that the bad breathed among us have seen fit to freshen up, we will all be the recipients of sweeter interactions.