Are you following all the steps to fresh breath?

There are many steps you need to take in order to truly get rid of bad breath, and even if you think you know all of them, you may be wrong. For example, while brushing your teeth twice a day and using alcohol-free mouthwash will help eliminate halitosis, there's still more that you need to be doing if you want to truly have the freshest breath in town.

For starters, after brushing, flossing and using mouthwash, Dental Health Magazine recommends using a tongue scraper to keep your mouth as clean and odor-free as possible. Your mouth is filled with bacteria that eat and produce waste just like humans do, and when this happens, they emit a powerfully bad smell that's responsible for most of your bad breath. While brushing your teeth and using alcohol-free mouthwash can get rid of a lot of oral bacteria, you'll need a tongue scraper to do a really good job. There's a great deal of bacteria located the back of the tongue, which a scraper can help destroy.

Also, do you chew sugar-free gum and stay hydrated throughout the day? If not, then you may be setting yourself up for a dry mouth, which is certain to cause bad breath. According to The Mayo Clinic, halitosis is one of the first side effects of a dry mouth because saliva is needed to fight off the bacteria that cause bad breath. Dry mouth can be brought on by aging, smoking and using certain medications, among other things. You should consult a doctor or dentist if dry mouth persists.

Remember, using alcohol-based mouthwash will worsen dry mouth, so be sure to stick to alcohol-free varieties. Brush, floss, use mouthwash and a tongue scraper and stay hydrated to keep bad breath at bay.