If you don’t brush and floss every day, food stays in your mouth and collects bacteria, which can cause bad breath. Food collected between the teeth, on the tongue and around the gums can also rot, leaving an unpleasant odor
So your date, your boss, or whoever’s talking to you has bad breath. For whatever reason, you don’t want to breach etiquette and just tell them to fix it.
Here are a few ways to politely intimate them with oral hygiene
Offer the person a gum or a mint. Get one for yourself, then offer them one, as if you’re just being polite by sharing. If they turn you down, say “You sure? I love this flavor. You should try it!”
If the person is your significant other, use kissing as positive reinforcement: “I love to kiss right after you chew that mint gum. It feels so minty and cool.” You can even make it into a playful little ritual–kiss them every time they chew gum, eat candy, or just finish brushing their teeth. They might catch on and learn to use that as a way to hint for a kiss!
Offer the person a snack or drink. Sometimes people get bad breath because their mouth is dry. Any drink or snack will help, even a glass of water. Just don’t offer them any food or drink that might make their breath worse, like milk or anything with garlic or onion in it.
Pretend you have bad breath. Say something like “Ugh, I have some weird breath right now. I haven’t eaten for several hours, maybe that’s why. Do you have any gum?” Sometimes this will make the other person wonder about their own breath, and perhaps use whatever remedy they give to you.
Find a way to talk about dental hygiene. The objective is to raise their consciousness about dental health. You should judge your conversation on how well you know the person.
Lead by example: Practice good dental hygiene in front of this person as much as possible, and act like you’re assuming they do the same. After eating, for example, excuse yourself to brush your teeth. Carry some travel sized mouthwash and floss with you. Ask them if they want some.
Radical Honesty: Think about it first. How would you like to be told? Simply saying “Your breath is bad/weird/funky. Here, have some gum.” is embarrassing and offensive. Let them see you checking your breath, and then offer the gum. If they take the hint, fine. If not, just go on.
Water is the solution: A dehydrated mouth will cause bad breath. Water is usually a better solution than gum or a mint, even. Not any snack or drink will do, as something with sugar will make things worse. You can tell your companion, “I’m really thirsty. Come with me to get a drink from that water dispenser.” They’ll probably take one too.
Click here and avoid the embarrassing situation of a bad breath.