> Halitosis is the medical term for which affliction?And the answer: bad breath. Photo credit: Helotesfamilydentistry.com[https://helotesfamilydentistry.com/blog/bad-breath-vs-halitosis/].Halitosisoften isn't serious, and can result from mild dehydration or eating certainfoods like garlic or onions. However, if it lingers, it can be a sign ofsomething more serious.Dragon breath, toilet tongue, maggot mouth, and even yuck mouth are all creativeterms used to refer to the same thing: bad breath, or halitosis. Most often, theaffliction comes after a big meal full or garlic, or the morning after you'veforgotten to brush your teeth. The human mouth is actually a hotspot for thebacteria that cause bad breath, which can occur in even the most diligent ofteeth-brushers. Interestingly, people have been trying to make their breath less stinky formillennia. The Egyptians, for example, made an early form of a breath mintalmost 3,000 years ago. They mixed up batches of boiled herbs and spices andblended them with honey to make sweets that could be chewed or sucked on.Meanwhile, the Chinese are credited with creating the first toothbrush – madefrom boar bristles – in the 1400s.However, it wasn't until Listerine capitalized the market for their antisepticthat the term "halitosis" was formalized as a medical condition. During the1920s, Gerald Lambert, the son of the owner of Lambert Pharmaceutical Company,came across the word in an old medical journal. Halitosis is an old Latin wordmeaning, "bad breath," but because of its scientific-sounding name, peoplestarted to pay attention. It was framed as a medical condition that requiredtreatment and, of course, the prescription was Listerine mouthwash.Learn more about the affliction and its causes below.