Americans spend nearly three billion dollars a year on fresh breath remedies including gum, mints, and mouth rinses to treat bad breath or halitosis. Not only does it have significant personal and social impacts, but it also affects those on the receiving end. So what causes it? Obviously there are those easily explainable instances that occur immediately after consuming certain foods and/or spices such as garlic, onions, cheeses or fish. And of course there’s always morning breath that is caused by dryness. Halitosis most often originates in the mouth from untreated periodontal (gum) disease and/or from proteins trapped on the tongue where they are processed by oral bacteria. This results in formation of sulphur compounds which are responsible for many malodors. More serious systemic (general body) disease can also cause bad breath.