What is Bad Breath? What Causes It?

Almost all cases of bad breath & taste disorders involve a group of anaerobic sulfur-producing bacteria, that live below the surface of the tongue, in the throat, and often in the tonsils (if present).

They react to changes in their environment by producing odorous and lousy tasting Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSC's), such as hydrogen sulfide (the rotten egg smell), methyl mercaptan (similar to the odor of old socks), and several other chemicals, such as Cadaverine and Putrescine.

The ONLY proven way to eliminate bad breath is to change your existing oral environment so that it is ‘less friendly' to creating and sustaining the volatile sulfur producing anaerobic bacteria which cause bad breath and taste.


The conditions that trigger bad breath and halitosis include, but are not limited to:

• A dry mouth

• Thick saliva

• Excess mucus in the throat

• Post nasal drip

• A diet high in proteins (dairy foods, red meat, beans, etc.)

• Smoking

• Alcohol (in adult beverages or surprisingly in your mouthwash)

• Hormonal changes

• Medications which have dry mouth as a side-effect (anti-depressants, high blood pressure medications, anti-histamines, etc).

• History of Diabetes

• Special types of Diets (i.e. The Atkins Diet or other high protein diets)

• Excessive use of “old-fashioned” oral products (containing alcohol and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) – check your medicine cabinet now to see if you're in this category.

You may be asking yourself right now, “What about onions and garlic? What does bacteria have to do with the bad breath I get when I eat Italian food?” The truth is that sulfur is also the culprit in cases of bad breath caused by food odors. Onions, garlic, and other spicy foods contain a variety of sulfur compounds, known as mercaptans, which are very odorous.

These are virtually the same type of chemicals produced by the bacteria that are part of the “normal” oral flora found in the mouths of everyone on the face of the earth. In other words, nearly all cases of “real” bad breath and/or taste disorders (or Halitosis as some like to call it) involve good bacteria and should never be treated with antibiotics. As I will explain later on, one of the most tragic mistakes by physicians is to immediately prescribe an antibiotic for bad breath, especially when they never seem to look in your mouth or at your tongue before doing so! (Be patient, I will soon get to the concepts that really work).

Source: Dr. Katz Bad Breath Bible