r/badbreath

I don't post much but I've been lurking here for a while and wanted to share something that's been genuinely changing things for me.

I (M32) have had bb my whole adult life. The kind where you brush and floss three times a day, tongue scrape, use Therabreath, pop a mint before every conversation and still watch people's faces shift when you get within a few feet of them. For years I thought I just wasn't doing enough. So I added steps. Oil pulling. Chlorhexidine rinse. Zinc toothpaste. Nasal rinses. Probiotics off Amazon that did nothing. The routine got longer and the results stayed the same.

At some point I started unconsciously angling my face down when I talk to people. Like redirecting the air away from whoever I'm speaking to. I only realized I was doing it when someone pointed out that I never make eye contact, which isn't even true, I just can't look someone in the face and speak directly at them at the same time. That messed with me more than I expected.

The thing that nobody told me, and that I had to piece together on my own, is that mouthwash and mints don't touch the actual bacteria. They kill whatever's on the surface for 20-30 minutes and then the same colonies rebuild. You're not fixing anything, you're just resetting the clock over and over. The bacteria that cause VSCs (the actual odor compounds) live deeper in biofilm on the tongue and in the back of the throat. Surface products can't reach them consistently.

I started reading about oral probiotics about six months ago after going down a rabbit hole about the microbiome. The idea is basically the opposite approach, instead of trying to kill everything, you colonize with strains that crowd out the odor-causing bacteria. I was skeptical because I'd been burned too many times and probiotic claims are everywhere.

I tried a couple off Amazon, used them for months and literally none of them helped. I realized how dumb I was when I looked at the back and saw that most of them use the exact same strains, so I was essentially buying the same product over and over with different branding. I was about to write off probiotics as pseudoscience entirely until I came across "Green Breath" from a Korean brand called Oraticx. The main ingredient is Weissella cibaria, a strain I hadn't seen in anything else I'd tried. That was honestly the only thing that made me try it again.

Six weeks in, something shifted. I was in a work meeting last week, sitting next to my manager, talking through something for probably 20 minutes straight. Normal conversation, close range. She didn't move. Didn't touch her face. Didn't find a reason to turn away. I didn't realize until I was walking back to my desk that I had been looking directly at her the whole time. I haven't done that in years. My wife noticed something was different before I told her anything, and now she ends up reminding me if I ever forget to take it before bed.

I'm not calling this a cure and I've been wrong before. But if you've been running the same masking routine for years and getting the same results, it might be worth asking whether you're actually addressing the bacteria or just resetting the clock. That reframe changed how I approached everything.

Curious if anyone else has gone down the probiotic rabbit hole or found the colonizing vs. masking distinction useful. Also genuinely want to know if the face-angling thing is something other people have developed. I've never heard anyone name it but I can't be the only one.

TLDR: 15 years of every product, nothing worked past an hour. Bought a probiotic off Amazon called Green Breath by Oraticx with a different bacterial strain (Weissella cibaria), first thing that's actually held. 2 months in and still going.

Whello does anyone know where to buy this probiotic? Last may 8, 2026 i did go to a dental clinic in pasig manila then , i undergo their halofix theraphy and they recommended me this probiotic , my problem is they sell this probiotic too high or expensive. Does anyone know where i can buy much cheaper price?

Need to vent! My patience is so short these days, and I find myself bouncing between feeling motivated, uplifted and encouraged, to feeling defeated, exhausted, hopeless, and angry.

I am so tired of simply living and existing and feeling like my very presence is an insult to someone. Those of us with nasal BB don’t feel safe anywhere. There isn’t a space of peace or ease because I am constantly holding my breath as to not offend someone. Some days it’s hard to even ignore the reactions when people go out of their way to announce what they are smelling loudly for anyone to hear. It makes me so angry. I don’t even have anymore tears to cry because I am so enraged with this condition and how limiting it has been. How my life has passed me by and how I want to be free and live but I feel like I am just trying my best to survive in any activity I do that involves people.

It’s also tough being motivated to change when you are constantly reminded of what you are trying to escape from. I can’t wait until summer gets here and I’m just waiting for the school gatherings and activities to end so I can work out my issues in peace without feeling judged every damn minute.

TL;DR The waterpik cured my post nasal drip 😱 and no tonsil stones in a month so far, and NO BAD MORNING BREATH!!

Hi, bb since childhood. I'm 45yo now. I don't know if it was room filling but I highly suspect it was. I suspect it's coming from my gut as I have always had GI issues since childhood too. Probably from being on massive amounts of antibiotics as a child. Up until about a month ago, I had constant, and I mean CONSTANT, post nasal drip causing me to make dreadful hacking sounds and grunts and spitting out phlegm. Like all the time. Anyway, I got a Waterpik brand water flosser with the big tank. I use it day and night, and sometimes in the afternoon after meals.

Technique: Basically I power wash every surface in my mouth. I set the knob to 2 for my tonsils spraying them in every crevasse, cheeks, under tongue, every soft nook and cranny. 4 for the roof of my mouth and tongue. Then a 5-6 for my gum line and between teeth. I blast the outside and inside of my teeth.

Finishing Touches: I brush my tongue with Dr. Tung's brush and gel. A pea size amount and light strokes with the brush. Softer is more effective believe it or not. Then I floss with regular floss while the gel marinates on my tongue. After flossing I scrape off what's left of the dirty gel with a stainless steel tongue scraper. Then I gently brush & rinse my tongue with the waterpik brush attachment. At this point my mouth feels like a million bucks, and it's time to wrap up with toothpaste and a soft bristle brush. A pea size is enough. I really get in there for good couple of minutes. (YouTube the correct way to brush.)

I noticed I no longer had that disgusting, constant post nasal drip. I also noticed it's been over a month and no tonsil stones have developed. Also amazing, my breath is not PUTRID in the morning like it always has been. My morning breath is fresher now than before when I brushed and tongue scraped. I'm mortified thinking of the years I walked around with a germ mouth and horrendous bb. Nothing ever felt this clean before.

THE WATERPIK CHANGED EVERYTHING!!! I think because my PND was an immune response to the germs in my mouth, as if my body was sending mucous to coat and perhaps attack (if there were white blood cells in them) the germs.

The Cons: My tongue isn't fully pink as I can still see some white between the taste buds in the back, but it's pretty darn close. My bb comes back after a few hours. I'm never sure how bad my BB is bc I don't have a trusted person to tell me. I do think my BB is coming from my gut and that will be an ordeal trying to fix that with uncooperative doctors.

Thanks for listening ✌🏻

Is it true if I don’t have breakfast my breath will stink? People say hunger breath smells and I might have that. Can you guys describe what hunger breath smells like?

since allergies cause post nasal drip and that leads to bad breath

I’m 31 M and throughout my life I have been thinking why don’t I have any friends in my life? Why do I sound wrong to others in whatever i speak? Do I speak nonsense? Am I not matured enough for my age? The problem was never about what I spoke! It was about how people felt when I opened my mouth to speak. DISGUSTED! It was and it is disgusting. I have had bb since childhood. Whenever I see someone carry small kids to play with them, I cry! Cause no one in my life picked me as a kid and chose to play with me. In my school days, I always hated a guy called k******k from my class cause never thought about how the other person felt. He always teased me that I had a bb. I even had a teacher who hated me for no reason (but now I know the reason) and scolded me hit me every time in front of the whole class. LIFE IS SO UNFAIR. My own brother teased me every single day for my bad breath. But why were my parents least bothered about it? I have run out of tears. LIFE IS SO UNFAIR. THIS IS SO WRONG. I AM SUFFERING FOR NO REASON. I MADE NO MISTAKES. I HATE THIS LIFE. In my college days I remember people pushing each other not to sit next to me cause no one wanted to sit next to me. But WHY ME? Why do I have to suffer all these? This is so bad. At times I feel being dumb & deaf would make my life easier.

Every time I think I found a cure it comes back sometimes 10 times worse than before I tried the oregano oil. It worked great for about 2 weeks. Then I wished I had never tried it. Made things way worse. Just like about everything. i’ve tried and every time I would come rushing in here you know days later hours later sometimes saying hey guys I’m eager to tell you this is the cure so sorry I was wrong but this time I waited I was gonna wait two months, but it’s been working great so far and if it’s been working for this long, somebody else needs to hear about it, I know how much we suffer with it.
Ok what I’ve done. 1I have postnasal drip problem and for some reason, I never thought about drinking water right after I feel like post nice will drip but one change was anytime I have or feel like I have mucus in my throat. I will go and guzzle down some water.2 I bought a tongue scraper. Yes I had tried that before, but I always thought it was instant. If that was the issue thanks to ChatGPT. I know it’s not instant. You have to keep using it every single day. It’s an accumulative benefit.3 my immune system was very weak so I started taking vitamin D,zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C and probiotics and I can’t tell you how much it has improved. I can only tell you that I had zero reactions in the last 45 days zero reactions I’m still not confident enough to say I’m cured because I have no one that I trust that much to verify but I go by people reacting by touching their nose that used to happen all the fucking time and I’ve had zero reactions. The other thing I’m doing that I forgot is nose rinse I forget how you call those things but it’s not the one that’s got the medicine in it. It’s just a rinse nasal spray hopes this helps everyone that has the same issue that I had for years.

My mucus dripping from the back of my throat is salty but it does not stank. However at night, after I brushed my teeth and go to bed. It suddenly have a weird mucus dripping down taste. and the mucus smell bad as I spit it out on my hand and sniff it while my saliva has no smell.

Please help me fix it.

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Since I was a child I have had problems going to the bathroom.

I tried laxatives and they didn’t work for me.

I stopped taking them because I hate them.

Right now I’m worse.

I feel the stool is extremely hard and thick, like dark pebbles.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Ok so like when ever I talk to this guy he always find a way to cover his nose and the reason I’m not really sure if my breath smells bad is because

1. I spend around 7 mins brushing my teeth every day
2. He doesn’t do it to other people when they have TERRIBLE breath
   maybe it’s a specific smell coming from my mouth? Anyways tell me if the signs say my breath stinks and tips on brushing

26F, 50 kg, 5'2". Relevant history: I had a mastoidectomy about 3–4 years ago and a tonsillectomy in the past, so my tonsils are removed. I’ve already seen an ENT, who said there’s no sinus issue or visible throat problem. I also saw a gastro doctor, tested positive for mild Helicobacter pylori infection, and completed treatment, but my symptoms did not improve during or after treatment.

My main issue is a constant sensation like something is stuck at the back of my throat, although nothing is actually there. It’s not painful, but it’s uncomfortable and noticeable every day. I also have a strange taste that seems to come from the back of my throat/mouth. It’s hard to describe — not exactly bitter or sour, just unpleasant and unusual. Sometimes when I scrape my tongue, I notice a small amount of white coating.

Another issue is that if I don’t eat or drink for a few hours, or if my mouth stays closed for some time, that taste becomes stronger and I start feeling like my breath smells bad. To check, sometimes I lick my wrist and smell it, and there is a slight unpleasant smell. It’s not strong, but enough to make me notice. I can’t tell whether it’s true bad breath or if this strange taste is making me feel like it is, but it has become very distressing and makes me self-conscious around people.

I have good oral hygiene, don’t smoke, and mostly eat home-cooked food. I mainly want to understand what could be causing this persistent throat sensation and strange taste, and how to get rid of it because it’s affecting my comfort daily.

I floss twice a day use mouthwash and an electric toothbrush. Im still terrified about my breath smelling bad. I cant leave the house without brushing my teeth. I always chew gum and have some on me and go through a pot in a few days. I even carry mini toothpastes with me in order to freshen up my breath. I cover my mouth when talking to people and i’m afraid to even start talking. Im usually a very sociable person but im terrified of my breath. Sometimes i taste i slight sour flavour in my mouth and i get really worried. How should normal mouth taste like? I can’t stop worrying if my breath does not taste like mint and it keeps stressing me out. I’ve gotten to the point wear is swallow toothpaste in the bathrooms before social interactions. Im not unattractive and i get compliments for smelling nice but i also get frightened when someone covers their mouth and offers me a piece of gum. I drink a lot of green tea because i’ve heard it helps with bad breath and i feel like im doing everything right but its all going wrong

This is for poop/fart smelling breath with nasal bb. If you have an experience with people saying something like "who farted" after you just talk, or someone says you smell like shit, then read this as we have the same experience.

I actually vented here 4 months ago abt my condition but now im really ok guys. nasal bb gone and yes, bb still there but just occasionally and i think that is nnormal for humans esp when you eat foods that can trigger bb. My main culprit is tonsil stones. Those shitty stuff. I just check them EVERYDAY. "bUt i cAnt find AnytHing when I check my tonsil--" stfu because you wont smell like shit if you dont have tonsil stones. Do something about it. you dont need a tonsillectomy. Use your fingers or cotton buds. Massage your tonsil stones until something pops outside. Do not stop. "bUt what if it bleEds--" shut up and stop if you cant tolerate it anymore. IT IS ALL COMMON SENSE. After that you tongue scrape, mouthwash, floss EVERY GAP IN YOUR TEETH (THE MOST IMPORTANT PART), lastly you brush your teeth normally.

When i first started to check my tonsils everyday, the left side stinks really bad like fish odor but the right side has no smell. So i used my common sense to clean it everyday, hoping the smell of it would disappear. And yes it did. It actually removed my nasal bb and bb too. I think it took me a month of cleaning my tonsil consistently until the smell was removed in the left tonsil. I still clean my tonsil EVERYDAY until now. Im just here in reddit sharing my thoughts bcs im lonely and bored.

In summary, you just need a good oral hygiene (NOT JUST BRUSHING BUT ALSO FLOSSING AND CLEANING YOUR TONSIL!). This works for poop/fart smelling breath. Cuz that's my condition for almost 9 years. If you have any questions, dm me and ill send you my discord server (alot of sufferers there too). Life is really fucked but at least i dont get any weird reactions from people anymore

My mom and sister have been telling me my breath stinks but I haven noticed anything. So I tested them by only breathing through my nose and kept my mouth tightly shut. both times they told me my breath smelled. So like when i breathe through my nose it smells? Can someone tell me how to fix this& why I have it?

Had anyone gotten to the bottom of always having a dry mouth? I'm wondering if many of us could be suffering from an autoimmune disease called sjrogens. It causes dry mouth and eyes

This morning I woke up to find the bedroom door open. My wife had opened it in the middle of the night because the room was "too stuffy". Same words she used last night before bedtime.

This morning when I pressed her about it, she revealed that I was the cause of the smell. What we discovered is that I give off a hot metal smell that likely comes from my body odour (armpits mostly). On top of that, I also have really bad breath - so I brushed, and it was better immediately. Then within 5-10 minutes, it was back. She says it's a distinctive bad smell maybe from dry mouth, and ruled out tonsil stones. She told me it's been going on for at least 2 years now, and has recently gotten worse over the last few weeks. The only thing that has changed in the last few weeks is that I started to wear a night guard - it keeps my mouth naturally agape because it's so broad.

For context, I brush and floss every night, and drink only water or black coffee. 1 cavity in the last 10 years. I shower every single day. My wife has an incredible sense of smell. We sometimes joke that my wife would be a "Scentier" in the See (TV Show) universe - capable of smelling things the average person can't. I, on the other hand, have the nose of Patrick Star (from Spongebob - he has no nose) and can't distinguish smells. It's so bad that when we are walking in barns and she says "Oof. Manure", I would sniff and smell either nothing or something completely off like baked goods.

Although my wife said the smell isn't flatulence, I should also mention that over the last few years, I have suffered from excessive flatulence to the point that I wear flatulence-proof pajamas to sleep (they help). Even after taking Gas-X pills at night and watching what I eat (no dairy, eggs, onions, alcohol, spices, spicy food, fried food, etc.), the flatulence persists.

To say that I feel embarrassed is an understatement. I feel like I don't even want to be near my wife or open my mouth in front of her, for fear of being completely off-putting to her. She has tried to reassure me, but I can't help but fixate on my foul smell. I am spiralling.

TL;DR: Body odour smells like hot metal. Foul smell coming from mouth minutes after brushing - unlikely to be tonsil stones. Historical excessive flatulence - ongoing for years. All despite maintaining healthy lifestyle and good hygiene practices.

I have 2 questions:

1. What could be the root cause of the foul smell(s)? What OTC medication or lifestyle changes should I try to resolve this?

2. Any advice or strategies to get over the feelings of self-disgust?

I wish I could be normal like other people. Living with this is exhausting especially when you are doing so much to try n keep it in control but still it persists to kill your confidence. My nervous system is always hyper vigilant. Always scanning for reaction from people , always worried if they can smell it. And the worst part is , the anxiety just worsens it due to dryness. Sometimes I just want to give up. It took the best years of my life and I don't know how many more. Is it worth living like this