Wow, could you guys be ANY more wrong about this??? LOL it's alright, a lot of people think brushing extra well and rinsing with Listerine will help the problem, which is true for most. However, if you're a person whose oral bacteria produces at an ultra rapid rate, this will NOT help.
Now, take it from me. I have been a bad breath sufferer since I was 10, and was up until a month ago (I'm almost 19 now). Let me tell you, most of the time, halitosis is NOT from poor oral hygeine, although it may be from time to time.
The smell comes from the back of your tongue. The very back part that most can not get due to the gag reflex. I'll tell ya, I certainly tried to get the back of my tongue with a tongue scraper and some toothpaste but it never worked because I have the worst gag reflex the world has ever encountered. I gag if I have too much toothpaste in my mouth. So, yeah..that whole idea never worked for me.
You should NEVER use products like Listerine, Scope, or even commercial toothpastes that are sold in the market in your mouth if you suffer from chronic Halitosis. The reason for this is because these products contain very high amounts of Alcohol and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which not only erodes your teeth if you constantly use it many times a day, but also gives the bacteria more to feed off of.
Keep with me now, this will be a long post. I just hope I haven't gotten to you too late. I don't think I have. Anyway, you need a toothpaste with certain chemicals in it to STOP the production of these VSC's (Volatile Sulfur Compounds) that the bacteria in your mouth produce. You'll need a paste and rinse with Zinc, Oxygen, and Chlorine Dioxide in it. Often times, these products are a bit pricey, but they work. They involve other ingredients as well, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind and are the main culprits in stopping mouth odor. These products will only work if the odor is coming from the back of your tongue. Some of these odors may include: Sweaty feet, cheese, rotten milk, which is caused by Isolveric Acid. A feces odor, a dead corpse odor, rotting meat or fish odor are also caused by other acids in your mouth which are not too pretty. These are odors mostly produced by the tongue. Also, if you often find yourself coughing up little balls of white stuff, that smell awful (mostly like cheese), those are tonsil stones. They can also be cured by the rinses I mentioned above.
You may want to try these: TriOral-I use it, and my bad breath is gone. It's a mix of two rinses and toothpaste, and they even sell gum and mints for it. If you use it as directed, it can prolong your bad breath for up to 12 hours.
Gargling with Hydrogen Peroxide is also said to help. You put it in a cup, 50% Hydrogen Peroxide, 50% water, and gargle.
You can try TheraBreath, but it didn't work for me. I'm not sure about others.
Make a trip to your dentist, as they may sell the Trioral there. It's not for sale in the supermarket or any place like that so if your dentist doesnt sell it there, you'll have to order it offline like I did. It's a bit expensive, but it does the trick.
Best of luck to you!
P.S. The whole trick with the oral rinses and pastes I mentioned is that if you acquire them, KEEP using them. Stopping will make your halitosis return. There is no cure for bad breath, but there is a way to suppress its effects. Hope this helped you and if you would like to talk further, please let me know!