bad breath

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gongey

Registered User
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101
how do you tell someone their breath is so bad it is killing flowers on the other side of the room?

i generally meet this person in a social capacity, in the pub more than not. I find myself having cigarette breaks every five minutes just to get a bit of fresh air.

I'm overly conscious of my breath particularly as I smoke and will have the necessary mints and gum to deal with it.
 
Keep offering them mints or gum very frequently - they may get the hint or even come right out and ask..... no one gets to offended then.
 
ninsaga said:
Keep offering them mints or gum very frequently - they may get the hint or even come right out and ask..... no one gets to offended then.
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agreed - copious offering of your stash of mints, failing that drop into conversation how you always feel you need to check your breath frequently (being a smoker) as you'd hate to have bad breath unknownst to yourself,might start the cogs ticking over in their minds as to their own breath...
 
They should be made aware of it by someone close to them. Bad breath 'could' be an indication of deeper health problems than just bad oral hygiene
 
Break it to them more gently than that? And don't exaggerate like that?

thanks for that helpful advice. the humour was lost, but the exaggeration is possibly true. There are no flowers in my pub.

and I asked the question how to break it to someone, not that I was going to say something like that.

for the other helpful answers, this lad doesn't like chewing gum or mints so its a bit of a puzzler.
 
can you not just say it to him?

you know, something along the lines of:

listen, this isnt good to hear but im sure you prefer to be told - your breath smells, its no big deal but i thought id bring it to your attention as a friend.
 
truthseeker said:
listen, this isnt good to hear but im sure you prefer to be told - your breath smells, its no big deal but i thought id bring it to your attention as a friend.
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Exactly. I would also add the possible reasons - e.g. diet, poor dental hygiene. But I think there is such a thing as non-specific halitosis (or whatever) so specialist oral hygiene products might be required.
 
i'd like to be honest but you just never know how people will react so I'd prefer not to be in the position.

i was toyin with the idea of saying something to his girlfriend and see if she might say something to him. but maybe she fell in love with his breath or something like that and she'd lose it.
 
the letter is a good idea. i saw that on the net as a suggestion

no messing, i don't mind a garlic based breath, you can handle it, but this comes from the depths and is like chemicals. i'd say its to do with this lads teeth more than anything else. i'm not sure gum, mints, or domestos would sort it long term
 
Could you perhaps stop meeting this person in a social capacity and thereby solve the problem (from your point of view anyway)?
 
not really - all part of a gang that hit the local for matches. obviously it bothers me but its not entirely for my benefit that I'd like something said - he's a sound fella and i wouldn't want anyone saying anything bad about him - I can sit well away on the other side of the bar though the bar is quite small. but i think he should get something done for himself.
 
truthseeker said:
can you not just say it to him?
listen, this isnt good to hear but im sure you prefer to be told - your breath smells, its no big deal but i thought id bring it to your attention as a friend.
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I'm sure the family will inform you when the funeral is, he'd die of shame if the OP said that!!!!

A discreet, sensitive word with his girlfriend is the best way forward. You could say you are due a dental visit and could he recommend a dentist? You could say you visited a certain dentist recently and got some work done at a fair price and that the dentist was telling you that only half of Irish people visit their dentist (sound shocked at this 'fact');) It might get him thinking.
 
A few years ago I had an employee who suffered from halitosis. After several mild hints I produced a small bottle of mouthwash and explained in a nice way that I used this myself several times a day. A little embarassed (he had a gum problem) he took up my offer with gusto, mouthwashd several times a day, his confidence grew and after six or eight months visited a dentist, had the infected stumps removed and got a false plate. Everything sorted. Now, I realise that not all halitosis is like his, but I'm sure most can be improved on.
 
Simeon said:
A few years ago I had an employee who suffered from halitosis. After several mild hints I produced a small bottle of mouthwash and explained in a nice way that I used this myself several times a day. A little embarassed (he had a gum problem) he took up my offer with gusto, mouthwashd several times a day, his confidence grew and after six or eight months visited a dentist, had the infected stumps removed and got a false plate. Everything sorted. Now, I realise that not all halitosis is like his, but I'm sure most can be improved on.
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It's difficult to call this as we don't the the person in question. It wasn't a huge deal to your employee Simeon, he took it on the chin (so to speak!).
It might help if the OP told us a little about the personality of his friend. Do you think he'd be the type that would be somewhat embarassed but get over it, or would he be offended/never want to face you again?
 
The idea is to get the message across gently without leaving a bad taste in the mouth - so to speak.
 
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