Are you afraid that an invisible demon has taken up residence in your mouth that spews out nasty smells whenever you speak? Are you spending too much money on mouthwash, breath mints and other odor-killing devices to no avail? 

You’re not alone. As many as 75 percent of the people in the United States worry about their breath at least once a day. Luckily, the solution is relatively simple.

See, that little demon’s name is actually Bacteria, and it generally lives on the back part of your tongue, between your teeth or on your gums. It becomes more powerful when you do anything that reduces the amount of saliva in your mouth, including sleeping, fasting, exercising and even taking some medications.

The good news is that you can exorcise this nasty little demon with a daily home regimen of proper brushing and flossing, along with effective deep tongue cleaning. Using a tongue scraper, make cleaning your tongue part of your daily ritual.

You can keep bad breath from happening in the first place by drinking plenty of water, chewing sugarless gum, and using mouthwash before bedtime. If none of this seems to help, seek medical care. Your dentist has a variety of tools available to evict the bad breath demon.