Why do I have bad breath?

I've been taking good care of my teeth, so why do I have bad breath?

• For the past few years, I think I've taken pretty good care of my teeth: 1. I brush three times a day (and I use a tongue scraper after each brush) 2. I rinse with Listerine for a minute after every meal, but in any case I try and rinse at least four times in a day. 3. I floss after every meal 4. I get my teeth cleaned at the dentist's office once every six months However, my breath and tongue condition is in pretty bad condition: 1. Almost every morning I wake up with this foul taste in my mouth along with a gray/white coating on my tongue. Rinsing does nothing to this gunk on my tongue, so I have to brush and scrape. Usually my tongue looks okay and my mouth tastes fine afterward 2. Usually once the morning cleaning wears off, I begin to get bad breath, even when my tongue isn't (too) gray and I've already brushed. I can especially notice it if I blow hot air, I don't know know how to describe the odor except that it reminds me of the smell of methane. For the rest of the day, I can taste this "methane." This is the case even after I brush/rinse/scrape; my mouth just tastes like peppermint, Listerine... and methane. But some extra info: 1. I eat healthily, so I rarely eat junkfood. And I eat healthy snacks, so my breath doesn't stink due to hunger. 2. I stay hydrated throughout the day and as far as I know my water source is sanitary. What do I do?

• Answer:

  Apart from poor oral hygiene and deposits on tongue, bad breath can be because of some systemic problems like lesser of saliva in the oral cavity or can be because of some gastric or respiratory disorder. Bad breath is not a disease but is a symptom of disease. You can refer to a dentist and or medical doctor to get the reason of bad breath diagnosed and treated. In your case, it may be because of systemic problem so you need to get treatment done for it. For more info on prevention and remedies of bad breath, you can refer to following article... http://www.identalhub.com/article_prevention-and-remedies-of-bad-breath-18.aspx