MIAMI, Florida (NBC) -- It's no secret that bad breath is embarrassing, and despite what they promise, toothpaste, floss, tongue-scrapers and mints can't cure Halitosis.
That's because the source of stinky breath lies within your tongue, according to Dr. Harold Katz.
Katz, a dentist, is America's best known bad breath doctor, and he was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida recently to do some bad breath busting.
"The biggest myth is that bad breath comes from your digestive system," Katz said. "Most bad breath is coming from back of your tongue, throat, and tonsils."
Katz brought his Halimeter to Fort Lauderdale's St. Bart's Coffee Shop to see just how bad people's breath was at 8 a.m.
"Anything above 100 means your breath sucks," Katz told the willing participants in the bad breath test.
"Actually, I've been told that my breath really stinks," said participant Lester Zalewski. "My morning routine: get out of bed, roll out, not brush my teeth and go get coffee and a muffin."
After testing a half a dozen people, all of whom scored under 30, Zalewski got the highest score.
"So I'm at 57, am I socially acceptable?" he asked Katz.
"You barely made it," the good doctor replied.
To fight the bacteria that lurks beneath the tongue, Katz came up with a solution: Therabreath Oral Care, an oxygenating formula.
"Because the bacteria are anorobic, which means they can't live in the presence of oxygen," Katz said.
The average toothpaste will clean your teeth, but the claims that it keeps your breath smelling good isn't exactly true, Katz said.
Having a dry mouth is one cause of stinky breath and lack of saliva helps bacteria build, so Katz recommended staying away from alcohol, including mouth wash.
Mints, chewing gum or anything with sugar also feed the bacteria.
Acidity levels in coffee don't help either.
Katz demonstrated the effectiveness of his formula by chomping down on a raw onion, which sent the Halimeter through the roof.
A swig of Therabreath brought it back down to zero.
"I'm gonna try these products and hopefully be more socially acceptable," Zalewski said.
