Periodontal disease can affect one tooth or many teeth. It begins when the bacteria in plaque (the sticky, colorless film that constantly forms on your teeth) causes the gums to become inflamed.

The main cause of periodontal disease is bacterial plaque, a sticky, colorless film that constantly forms on your teeth. However, factors like smoking, genetics, pregnancy, stress, diabetes and poor nutrition can also affect the health of your gums.

Causes of bad breath include waste materials created by bacteria in the mouth, between the teeth and in the fissures of the tongue. When these bacteria feed, they release gaseous waste products that cause foul-smelling odors known as Volatile Sulfur Compounds or VSCs. How's that for disgusting? VSCs in the mouth and on the tongue create the "rotten egg" smell commonly associated with bad breath. VSCs are the worst enemy of fresh breath and a clean mouth!

If you sometimes suffer from "not-so-fresh" breath you're not alone. Most people get bad breath sometime and are in need of bad breath treatment. And things like heart-burn, antibiotics, acid reflux, diabetes, even low-carb diets can make bad breath worse.