Bad Breath Halitosis Forum

Aydinmur, In your expert opinion, what actually causes morning breath?

From what we all read, its because saliva flow reduces or stops during sleep.
But why exactly does this cause bad breath?
Is it the flow of saliva that normally washes away the chemicals that would otherwise build up?
Is it the oxygen contained in the saliva that normally maintains a mostly aerobic environment, which is diminished during sleep?
Or is it enzymatic or immunological activity from saliva that normally keeps bacteria in check, which diminishes during sleep.
Or is it something else entirely? Or a combination of all of these factors?

The reason I ask this question is because even people who do not normally have BB tend to end up with BB after sleeping. The reasons for this might be of interest and give some new insights and ideas into the causes of type-1 BB.

Thanks.

Thanks for your reply. Its incredible to think that nobody knows the answer to this.

I honestly think that if BB was never due to dental causes (which it usually always is) then there would be a lot more scientific interest in the subject because we wouldnt have a multi-billion dollar bad breath masking industry protecting itself by there being no answer to such basic questions.