To kiss or not to kiss

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-22-2004
To kiss or not to kiss
2
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 8:29am
Hey all!
I’m in somewhat of an awkward situation. I’ve been seeing this guy for about three weeks now, and things are going good. We’re taking things slowly, and have not been intimate yet. However, we have kissed and his breath is bad!! Oh goodness, what do I do? How do you tell someone that they have bad breath? It totally kills the mood, someone blowing their foul breath in your face. Like a fool, I’ve gone ahead and kissed him, trying to ignore the smell. It’s pretty bad, y’all. He’s such a great guy: handsome, intelligent, stable…..it’s just that his breath is very offensive! At first, I was thinking maybe it was something he’d recently eaten. However, it’s happened twice now, the same smell. What do I say? I don’t want to hurt his feelings; however, I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to kiss him anymore. It kinda grosses me out!!
What would you do? I can easily say, “I would want someone to tell me if my breath were funky…”; however, I know it would probably hurt my feelings and make me very self-conscious.
Help!!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2005
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:51am

Bad breath, body odor.......it's all out there. The question is whether or not you can "live" with it. Bad breath is usually a sign of bad dental health. If you don't want to say anything directly, you could mention that you're going to the dentist soon, that you believe strongly in dental hygiene.....and let it go at that. He might get the hint. If he doesn't, you have two choices. Tell him, or live with it. He might be able to accept the facts, he might not.

Sometimes people are so used to their own "odor" they don't even notice it. Many years ago, there was a guy who worked in a factory where I was the office manager. His odor was SO bad that many of the men refused to work next to him. Someone anonymously left a bar of soap at his station, and he didn't have a clue! Finally one man had the nerve to tell him that he stunk! The guy was in shock. It turned out he'd been on his own pretty much since he was a boy, and no one ever taught him about hygiene. It didn't take him long to clean up his act after that.

Avatar for katmandoo2001
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 10:08am

Nothing grosses me out as much as bad breath! Total turnoff!

Have you thought that he might need to see a dentist? He could have tooth decay or an infection that needs to be addressed. But I find it difficult to believe that HE can't tell that his breath smells though. It's right under his nose!

Until you get the courage to suggest a dental visit, when the next kissing opportunity occurs, be gentle, pop a breath mint and then offer him one, too, along with the comment "don't want to gross each other out."

Look at it this way...once you tell him his breath is bad, he'll be more conscientious about keeping it fresh! So, you'll be doing HIM, and yourself a favor.