If your best friend had horrible breath, would you tell them? Someone might want to....did you know that you can't smell your own breath, no matter how hard you try? It's called acclimation and it makes us immune to the odors emanating from out mouths.

The fact is that bad breath is a very common problem and not one of us is immune. Morning breath, coffee breath, stale breath...we all could use some freshening up, especially if we're going to to be in face-to-face situations with other people. Many people believe that bad breath comes from poor oral hygiene or from the stomach (ever worried after eating garlic for lunch?) But in reality, most cases of bad breath come from the millions of bacteria that live our mouths.

So what can you do about bad breath? Gums, mints, and breath sprays can mask the smell and offer a short-term fix, but stopping the odor at the source is much more productive. Mouthwashes kill the germs that cause bad breath -- think Scope and Listerine. But newer products -- like Therabreath and Smartmouth -- contain odor eliminators and preventors that may be even more effective at keeping breath fresh long-term.

If someone you know has bad breath, be gentle. In the long run, they may be glad you told them, but coming clean can cause embarrassment. Want to tell them, but don't know how? This website will send an anonymous and non-judging letter to your friend for you.