There is nothing that kills a first date quite as much as bad breath. It makes for a bad first impression. Halitosis (bad breath) has many causes including certain foods, alcohol, cigarettes, poor dental hygiene, gum disease, infections and also systemic diseases. The warm, moist condition of the mouth makes a friendly hideout for bacteria that causes bad breath. Sometimes the mouth can get dry like when we mouth breath at night or become dehydrated. Dry mouth can lead to halitosis because a dry mouth allow dead cells to adhere to the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks of the mouth. Bacteria in the mouth will attach to the dead cells and then expel foul smelling gases.

When you don't brush your teeth often enough or you brush them improperly the food stuck in between the teeth can cause bad breath. Not flossing adds to bad breath because flossing would be able to get those food particles out from between the teeth.

Periodontal disease (gum disease) is one of the infections of the mouth that can cause bad breath. Other infections that can cause bad breath are lung infections, sinus infections, and throat infections.

Symptoms of Bad Breath:

Usually the person who has bad breath cannot smell it because the odor-detecting cell in the nose of the person with the bad breath become accustomed to the consistent flow of bad smells coming from the mouth that they do not detect the bad breath anymore; it is usually someone else recoiling from the individual that first alerts them to the fact that they have a bad breath problem.

When you have bad breath, you may have film coating the teeth which is plaque, or you may have food debris in between your teeth. Your gums may be swollen, red or pale. The gums may be bleeding. You may see pus draining from between teeth. You may experience loose teeth or a change in the way your dentures feel. You may notice painful, open sores on your tongue or gums.

You may also have a respiratory tract infection that could be giving you bad breath. In this case you would have the symptoms of a respiratory tract infections such as a sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, fever, stuffy nose, colorful nasal discharge and also possibly a mucus-producing cough.

Evidence of alcohol or cigarette smoking might signal a possible bad breath situation.

If your mouth is dry you might encounter these symptoms:

1. Difficulty-swallowing foods, difficulty with speech

2. A burning sensation in the mouth and an unusually high number of cavities and also dry eyes.

Lastly, you may have systemic disease as a symptom of bad breath. Those individuals who suffer from diabetes, kidney failure, liver disease or lung disease could very well have bad breath.