I've been away from blogging for a few months because I've been on an important quest -- to help get rid of bad breath once and for all. And I want to tell you a little about what I found in my journeys.

There are many different causes of bad breath, and each of them can produce their own, unique form of oral odor. It's important to know what all of these things are so you can avoid them or take the proper steps to combat them.

Just because there's no food that can fight bad breath doesn't mean that natural extracts from plants won't be able to improve your dental health.

At breath clinics across the nation, halitosis professionals like me are constantly fielding questions about oral odor. Take a look at some bad breath FAQs that made the news in the past month.

Bad breath studies and bacteriology have gone hand in hand for a long time. That's why today's specialty breath fresheners offer such targeted treatments -- they are the result of decades, sometimes even centuries, of research into what causes halitosis.

Here's a lexicon -- but by no means comprehensive one -- list of the causes of bad breath, both rare and common. Some of these problems have even appeared in the news recently.

I'm convinced that many people simply think bad breath is "mouth only" and can be cured with a quick brush or a breath mint. That's not the case -- there are many "types" of bad breath.

Tonsil breath is where bad breath/halitosis originates in the tonsils, and not in other areas like the lungs or stomach.

In most cases, bad breath from the lungs has one of two causes: either some kind of disease or infection, or something you ate or drank that then enters the bloodstream and releases odors when said blood reaches the lungs.

If you stepped into the 1800s (or sped into them at 88 mph, if you prefer), what would you do when you found that you had bad breath?

While bad breath has been around pretty much as long as man has, research in the science world continues to find out what is behind bad breath and how to fix it -- not to mention new advances in technology.

There are constantly new developments in the world of oral care and, more specifically, bad breath. Here are a few new studies that are worth mentioning in the fight to understand and banish bad breath.

Let's face it; food is a major part of our everyday lives. But did you ever stop to think that your food choices may affect your breath?

To most of us, bad breath is an annoyance at most. However, there are some instances where bad breath is more than just something to be mindful of.

New oral care probiotics that contain S. salivarius K12 and M18 can actually help fight common oral care problems that many of us deal with every day.

Basically, oral probiotics contain "good" bacteria that replace or eliminate "bad" bacteria in the body. Recently, there has been an oral care probiotic that will actually benefit the oral cavity itself.

Despite common perception, bad breath is not just a topic to be taken lightly. For many, halitosis is part of daily life, whether it's suffering from it or working or living with someone that has foul breath.

If dieting is not done correctly, people risk developing bad breath.

Lindsay Lohan will have to deal with food that few on the outside would consider palatable. Some of the food she will be eating is even known to cause bad breath.