Source of Bad Breath?

If you feel you may have an offensive odor coming from your mouth or if you’ve been told there is a problem, go to your dentist first to make sure there is not an underlying dental prob¬lem. Once you have been cleared of any dental disease, you can usually clear up a problem with a very simple but overlooked product – a tongue scraper.

Ninety percent of bad breath comes from organic compounds that are stored on the dorsal or top surface of the tongue. It is very porous and has a large surface area, tons of nooks and crannies for bad smell¬ing things like garlic to hide and resonate odor. A good quality tongue scraper can be found at a drug store or a dentist’s office from 50 cents to $10. After eating something that typically causes bad breath, scrape your tongue then brush your teeth for two minutes. This will remove the offensive agent and return your breath to fresh and unnoticeable.

- Mark D. McOmie, D.M.D.