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ABSTRACT Most cases of oral malodour are thought to be due to microbial biofilms that form in the pits and fissures that exist on the dorsum of the tongue. The tongue microflora is mainly fed by saliva, but nutrient sources could also include exfoliated mammalian cells and tissue fluid (e.g. crevicular fluid) which may bring high concentrations of sulfur-containing substrates. In addition, consumed food could also contribute nutrients to a lesser degree. The collective microbial biofilm metabolism breaks down proteins, peptides and glycoproteins into cell transportable monomers, including sugars and amino acids. A significant portion of the biofilm can convert nutrient substrates into volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including odiferous volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). A number of in vitro biofilm models have been developed to study the generation and inhibition of microbial oral malodour. Dynamic steady-state models coupled with real-time monitoring of VOCs seems to offer advantages over models based on batch sampling from batch culture. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]