What's to blame for bad breath?

• Position: Your Life - Brief Article

Most people know, hate, and will do anything to avoid bad breath. Nervous couples on a first date will run screaming from any dish that was prepared anywhere near a clove of garlic. Executives ready to close a big deal often engage in the "breathe into hand and inhale" maneuver to determine how close they can stand to their prospective partners before they march into the boardroom.

Whether or not they admit it, the simple truth is that everyone suffers from bad breath from time to time. For the estimated 27,000,000 Americans who have chronic halitosis, however, it is a more serious issue, but many may be surprised to hear what causes the condition. "One of the biggest misconceptions about bad breath is that it starts in the stomach," points out Marvin Cohen, author of the halitosis section of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and founder of the Halitosis Research Institute. "In fact, at least 90% of all bad breath is caused by germs that live in the mouth." The millions of bacteria lurking in the human mouth digest protein particles and then produce sulfur gases. When those gases are emitted through the mouth, they are perceived by...