Recently I have been experiencing bad breath. I have never had a problem with this before and its really starting to get on my nerves. I would say that I have had it for maybe 2 months. I brush my teeth (and tongue) at least 4 times a day and it doesn't seem to be going away. A few hours after I brush my teeth I notice that a white covering has formed on my tongue. A foul mouth odor is also present. I wouldn't say any other symptoms are present aside from an occasional swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck.

Additionally, I did have tonsilitis not too long ago and I think the mouth odor started just before I came down with it. However, the odor hasn't gone away even though the tonsiliits has.

Does anyone know why I have this white tongue and bad breath? I'd like to know what I can do about it so that it will go away.

Hi LuckyDuckie,

There are quite a few causes for bad breath: tonsil stones, post-nasal drip, thrush, and more serious problems like periodontal disease. You might want to set up an appointment to your dentist if your problems persist - just to make sure it's nothing serious.

(btw, swollen lymph nodes usually indicate there's an infection present.)

Hi, my tongue is always white and i always have a funny taste in my mouth, i havent been to the dentist to see what it is yet but i did buy a tongue scraper and that has helped a little bit, it may be hairy tongue (which sounds a lot uglier than it is) but I think that is just like bacteria on your tongue that causes the white, but that is treatable and nothing serious. Hope this can help a little.

Just curious, have you started taking any new medications lately? Many have the dry mouth side effect which can sometimes give you that white coating on the tongue. Make sure you're drinking enough water too, of course.