Your Tongue: A Bad Breath Incubator

Surprisingly, it may be your tongue that's causing embarrassing bad breath. People go through great effort to produce a sparkling set of teeth, but they ignore the large organ in between (the tongue) which is literally crawling with odor producing germs.

Bacteria responsible for bad breath, gingivitis, and tooth decay are removed from teeth and gums by normal brushing and flossing. For smart bacteria, however, the tongue provides a perfect hiding place.

Here bacteria live in a virtual compost heap of saliva, protein, and putrefied food remains. Unfortunately for us, bacteria feast on this compost to produce the volatile sulfur particles responsible for foul breath.