*tries not to breathe*

[EricKei]

mhg - cool

The very fact that he was brushing so often suggests that he knew *something* was wrong, he just didn't know what, or how to fix it. Kudos for being subtle while still helping him out ^_^

[Sleepwalker]

I brush 3-4 times a day, gargle and floss 1-2 times a day and it's really not terribly expensive. You can get all of your supplies at the dollar store.

I think people are either unaware of it or think it's normal.

Or have a rotten tooth they can't afford to fix.

[bhskittykatt]

Sounds like my husband. (He doesn't like the toothbrush. I'm slowly teaching him that they can be friends.)

I like the advice of offering him a mint as an "afterthought." It's subtle and saves face.

[Seshat]

From multiple dentists I've talked to, here's what normal oral hygiene should be:

Once a day, a full clean: brush, floss, and if you can tolerate it, brush tongue and cheeks.

2-4 more times a day: brush. Optional flossing.

Do not brush within ten or fifteen minutes of eating or drinking something sugary - give the saliva a chance to re-strengthen tooth enamel first.

Don't rinse out flouridated toothpaste - just spit the excess out. Leave the flouride in your mouth, so it gets a chance to strengthen tooth enamel.

If you have a soft-spot that doesn't yet need a filling, dab a tiny bit of flouridated toothpaste on it last thing at night, go to sleep with the flouride there. Check back in 3-6 months, see if it's hardening. (For me, it always has, and I've ended up not needing a filling. Whoot.)

[Shalom]

I definitely remember reading in a medical publication about one case of intolerable halitosis in which the doctors, dentists etc. couldn't figure out what was causing it... finally someone thought of getting him to cough and expectorate into a cup, and his phlegm STANK to high heaven. This at last gave them something to investigate, and it turned out that he had some sort of rare enzyme deficiency, but the only symptom was lung secretions that smelled like weeks old dead fish.

(If it smells like rotten potatoes, it might be chronic strep; when I was taking microbiology, we cultured some Group-A β-hæmolytic strep on blood agar, and when we checked the Petri dish in a few days, it smelled exactly like the worst case of halitosis I ever encountered. Some years later, a potato fell behind the sink in my apartment and moldered for a while, producing much the same smell until I excavated and evicted it.)

There are also some people who have crypts in the roofs of their mouths or on the soft palate, and decaying food can get trapped in there. Symptom of this is spitting out little tan-colored squishy stinky bits which I've always heard referred to as "gubbins".

[Athaelia]

i wish i could remember the name of the mints i was thinking of too
not the happy bunny ones but the bowl...

you know those pastel colored ones, slightly chalky but ohh so tasty?

those are hard to pass by. especially if there's a nice big bowl of them saying "eat me!"

Those mints rock!!! My favorite Chinese restaurant back home always had a huge dish of those mints; I'd grab a bunch after my meal. Yummmmm......

[BookstoreEscapee]

has these great mints, the flavor is lemon-pomegranite. i am not normally into sweets but htese have a nice sour tang =)

I have a tin of those somewhere in my desk at work. They're pretty good.

[MsCrankypants]

Trader Joe's makes these green tea mints that are pretty good. Although someone with halitosis that bad might have some other medical/dental issues that contribute to the problem, so mints may not do a whole lot.

[Kogarashi]

@PepperElf: If the mints that I'm thinking of look like This, they are called "Dainty mints" and your local Aid of Rite has them in huge bags, 2/$3.

Unless you also mean the similar/potentially the same of pillow mints, in which case you'd need to order them online or find a specialty candy store.

I've heard them called after-dinner mints, and have seen them at both the Dollar Tree and in the candy aisle of Walmart.

[Nayeli_Sabia]

My husband has a chronic bad breath issue. He honestly does not notice. I frequently offer mints/mouthwash. Actually, the rule in our house is no kissing without mouthwash.

[Seshat]

Time to get him to a doctor.

[tollbaby]

Chronic halitosis can be a sign of many things from rotting teeth to cancer. Only an internist can really determine the cause (dentists usually can't). Sickly sweet breath can be a sign of diabetes. Abominable death breath can be a sign of cancer, kidney or liver failure, or pancreatitis. Or, as has already been pointed out, acid reflux, ulcer, intestinal complaints or even Crohn's.

Depends on the person, and how long they've been ignoring said problem. I've been trying to get my ex to see a doctor, because every time he gets into my car, I have to open the windows or throw up.

[Imprl59]

I've always wondered why people won't say something in these situations. I would much rather have someone tell me my breath stinks, my fly is open, or whatever else might be wrong rather than keep quiet and leave me to offend the masses.


Steve B.

[KellyHabersham]

I've always wondered why people won't say something in these situations. I would much rather have someone tell me my breath stinks, my fly is open, or whatever else might be wrong rather than keep quiet and leave me to offend the masses.


Steve B.

My mom is a good example of why sometimes it's best NOT to say anything in these situations - the short version is that she's occasionally had major halitosis, refuses to do anything about it, and gets really pissy if you say anything. (One example being that when I was a kid, she slapped me for telling her that her breath stunk) And unfortunately, sometimes it sucks sitting next to her in public places, because if she leans over to say something, you get a big whiff of poop in your face.......if you jerk away, she gets mad at you for "being rude".

[draftermatt]

There are also some people who have crypts in the roofs of their mouths or on the soft palate, and decaying food can get trapped in there. Symptom of this is spitting out little tan-colored squishy stinky bits which I've always heard referred to as "gubbins".

I have this. Not all the time, but every so often that happens. Used to be a lot when I was a kid.

To the point that I would carry mints or tiny bottles of mouth wash in my pockets at all times. Did that into my early 20's.