1. Halitosis comes from the stomach. (Only rarely does this ever occur.)

2. Halitosis comes from the lungs. (Only rarely does this occur and can be a manifestation of a serious disease.)

3. Halitosis is a hereditary problem. (This is absolutely not true.)

4. Mouth washes and breath mints can help a breath problem. (This is not true. They only mask the problem for a few short minutes at best. Alcohol based mouthwashes in fact will worsen the problem because they dry out the mouth thus increasing the volatilization of breath odors.)

5. Internal breath fresheners can help my problem. (These do absolutely nothing for a chronic halitosis condition.)

6. There is no treatment for halitosis. (There now is a highly effective treatment for this problem at The Center For Breath Treatment.)

7. Brushing my teeth more will help eliminate my breath condition. (This is also not true. Excessive brushing can dry one’s mouth, thus increasing the halitosis problem. Excessive brushing can also damage the teeth and gums over time. It is very difficult to remove the specific odor causing bacteria with brushing and flossing alone, and most patients we see at our center tend to have very good oral hygiene.

8. Halitosis is caused by foods. (Foods such as onions, garlic, or cauliflower can induce certain odors but these are only transitory, and can be easily eliminated by avoiding that particular food. The odors they produce also are not of the “sulfur” type commonly seen in true halitosis conditions, and generally are not as offensive.