You may not know you offend, but you'd better believe your co-workers do. Contrary to some beliefs, the problem doesn't start in your stomach, on the roof of your mouth or on the top of the tongue. Jon Richter, founding director of the Pennsylvania Center for Breath Disorders, said most bad breath originates in certain bacteria deposits at the back of the tongue, where it starts to plunge into the throat. Some people have more of it than other people, so their breath smells worse, he said. They will also give the user a sense of confidence because they feel a strong, minty, tingly feel in their mouth.
Some people use a spoon to manually scrape bacteria from their tongues.
Richter developed his own system, called ProFresh, which he sells on the Internet. His system uses a tongue scraper to scratch off top layers of bacteria and a chlorine dioxide rinse to kill the underneath bacteria. Steven Little, a general dentist, said a dirty mouth leads to plaque development, which leads to tartar, which cakes on teeth, which deteriorates gums and leads to infection, odor and disease. This calls for not only daily brushing and flossing, he said, but a regular, thorough periodontal cleaning of teeth and gums by qualified dentists. Just because you have bad breath in the past doesn't mean you have bad health now, Richter said.