a) I clean my mouth/teeth at least in the morning and before going to bed.
b) Before doing a) I always clean my tongue with the scraper about 15 times fully from back to front and flush with lots of water in between.
c) in the evening I also use floss
I do a), b) and c) on a daily basis.
I had a tonsillectomy.
I don't have reflux or sinusitis.
I had multiple tests for heliobacter pylori: all negative.
Some cleaning methods I tried:
1. method: using chlorhexidine mouthwash (0,2% chlorhexidine): if I use it daily (once in the morning) then the bad breath is much less, maybe even eliminated, for multiple hours, maybe even until evening. I can tell that easily from the reactions I get from other people when talking to them. Everyone knows what I mean. It is not recommended to use chorhexidine for more than a few weeks, so this is not a solution for me. I even tried it once for 4 weeks and after I stopped using it, I got very painful aptha on the tongue for multiple days.
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If I use chlorhexidine only on a single day, then the bad breath is back in full strength the day after tomorrow. So using it every other day is also not a solution.
2. method: using normal mouthwash: when I flush with normal mouthwash like Listerine after cleaning a) and b) (or a+b+c) and don't gargle with it then my breath is okay for about half an hour. I suspect that the mouthwash is just masking the bad smell and after 30 minutes the saliva has just washed all of it away.
3. method: normal mouthwash again: when I gargle with it for like 30 seconds after doing method 2, then the bad breath after half an hour is much worse. I can then myself smell it when I leave a closed room and return a few minutes later. Gross!
Is it the back of my tongue that I cannot see no matter how much I pull my tongue out? I cannot reach that area of my tongue with the scraper. I can only get mouthwash there. Is the gargling "bringing up lots of bacteria" that is then scattered in my whole mouth-area?