I have suffered from severe halitosis for at least 10+ years now.  I
have excellent oral hygeine, and whenever I go to my dentist, he
comments on how perfect my teeth and gums are.  I get checked and
cleanings every 6 months, not a single cavity all my life, etc, etc.

I brush every day, I scrape my tongue as far back as I can until I gag
from it.  I use a WaterPik with a listerine/water mixture to deep
clean my teeth and gums, spend 3-4 minutes brushing, followed by a 2-3
minute rinse and gargle with full-strength listerine.  But within 30
minutes of doing all this, the bad breath is back.

I have a metallic taste in my mouth and sometimes I get a white mass
appearing on my tonsils.  I have actually even tried using the
waterpik on my tonsils but I just gag.  Now I try poking and prodding
my tonsils to see if I can dislodge anything, but it still doesn't
help.

I am at my wits end!  How can I solve this problem?  I know about the
"VSC" and how they contribute to bad breath, and I definitely have
this problem.  but where do VSCs come from?  Why do I have them worse
than 99.999% of the population?  And what can I do about it?

Its hard to find information out there.  A lot of people and companies
are hawking their "oxidizing" products that will eliminate these
odors.  I tried them before (TheraBreath and Closys) and while they
were more effective than Listerine, they were far from total solutions
to the problem.  I just want to have NORMAL breath!  From my research,
it seems maybe I have post nasal drip?  What could cause that?  Can it
be fixed?  Or maybe I have chronic inflammation of the tonsils?  When
I was about 7 years old, I broke my nose and I have a deviated septum.
Could this contribute to post nasal drip?  I also suffered constant
tonsil infections... and my tonsils are large anyway, they take up
easily 3/4 the back of my throat.  I went to a specialist who said I
should have them removed (for the purposes of eliminating bad breath),
but other folks and websites said online that it doesnt help.  I am 27
years old and I have no insurance, so if I pay for this out of my
pocket, I am worried it could be dangerous and might not even help.
On the other hand, I dont know what else to do!  I can't spend 20
minutes cleaning my teeth for 30 minutes of fresh breath.  And I can't
go through my life spending $50+ a week on mouthwashes and special
gums and toothpastes that they MASSIVELY overcharge on.  I also saw a
doctor performing "laser surgery" on the tonsils to remove the crypts
there claiming this prevented bad breath.

I just want to know what is causing this problem and how I can solve
it!  is it long papillae on my tongue causing bacteria to get caught
in it?  Is it post-nasal drip?  Chronic sinus infection?  tonsil
crypts that serve as a breeding ground for foul smelling odor?
Wherever this odor is coming from I am not effectively cleaning it.
My whole mouth (teeth, gums, front of tongue) can be clean as a
whistle yet 10 minutes later the metallic taste and halitosis is back.
I need to know where this odor comes from, why its there, and what I
can do to kill it once and for all.  What is different about me than
other people that causes this problem?  Are any doctors researching
this?  Does anyone really know why it happens to some and not others?

I can't put into words how horrible an affliction this is.  People
think of you differently.  They assume you are dirty or they just dont
want to talk to you or associate with you.  I feel like I am floating
the chewing gum industry right now... and forget about the self esteem
issues and problems with intimacy.  I would gladly trade half my
remaining years just to live them with NORMAL BREATH.

Can anyone help me????