Having a dry mouth is another cause of halitosis. When people don’t hydrate their mouth often by drinking lots of water, there are changes occurring inside. First, the bacteria that are already accumulated inside the mouth and the saliva become much more concentrated. The saliva tends to alter its acid or base balance, which become a favorite of the bad bacteria to be their breeding grounds. As your mouth continues to be dry, the changing of the acid or base balance evaporates into the air causing that stinking bad breath.

You also suffer from bad breath when there is a yellow or white film visible on your tongue. This happens when there is a nasal mucous that drops into the areas of the tongue. The nasal mucous itself has bad bacteria and is odorous such that when it mixes with the saliva and the lining of the mouth, it turns your breath smelly too. Removing the film on the tongue by brushing or scraping it usually does not cure the problem. A treatment must be sought to correct the root of the problem.

A tongue scraper can remove some of the smelly build-up on your tongue. But it can’t help with another major cause of bad breath that may affect as many as 10% of all people who still have their tonsils: tonsil stones.