It's 6 a.m., the alarm goes off, you rub your eyes and turn toward your spouse for a morning kiss. He or she shrinks back in horror, screams and then runs for the bathroom. What happened? Well, most likely you have "morning mouth" and unfortunately it's perfectly normal. However, by making sure you are practicing good oral hygiene you can have a cleaner mouth, thereby keeping odor to a minimum. The "morning mouth" type of breath odor occurs because the saliva that regularly washes away food particles and odors during the daytime diminishes at night while you sleep. Your mouth becomes dry, and odors can develop.

Although morning mouth is not a health concern, there are other causes of bad breath that are health concerns. If you feel as if you have chronic bad breath, click on the link to read more about causes and remedies.