[dcole]

This may not seem to be in the right category... but my husband's bad breathe is affecting our relationship. I've told him countless times about his halitosis... to the point where I'm not so patient anymore. When we're intimate (and he knows in advance) he's thoughtful enough to brush his teeth/tongue, use mouthwash. But the part that bothers me is that he knows it bothers me and still wants to kiss and get close to me. I would really enjoy that if I wasn't so put off by his breathe. I don't mean to be insensitive, but I'm having a hard time getting past it and ignoring it so that we can be close. The last time we made love I couldn't help trying to avoid his kisses and tried to keep my mouth shut. Although I'm not opposed to any ideas on how to help get rid of bad breathe, that's not really the issue - since he's tried quite a few methods. The issue (to me) is that I've told him so many times how I feel and he still continues to kiss and be close to me without trying to first improve it.

Don't know what else to do to get him to understand how much of a turnoff that is. Any suggestions?!

[djstar]

Ask your hbnd,
To brush teeth twice
To swallow using mild hot water with lemon and salt
To use min chewing gum

[Kattalover]

There might be an underlying medical problem. Has he been to a doctor and had his stomach checked? And a dentist?

[LearningAsIGo]

Is it possible he thinks you're teasing and not that serious? Sit him down and tell him its so bad you're worried because its often a sign of a medical condition. Offer to make him a dental appointment.

[Dennis777]

Hello.

I have a feeling that you know why he has bad breath and its not a medical problem but more due to smoking or what he eats. If that's the case then the problem is you don't feel he is thinking about your feelings only his.

Im not sure how long you have been together but if he has had years of not thinking about his breath then he isn't going to change overnight unless he has a reason to change. In other words when he wants some Loving and he hasn't brushed then stop him and ask him in a nice way to take care of the problem first. Im sure he will start to think about his breath more once he doesn't get what he wants.

He might get mad a few times because of it but it will be worth it in the long run.

Good Luck
Dennis777

[jrb252000]

Maybe force yourself to eat something that will give you some bad breathe and see how he likes it... I know that seems childish but it may get the point across.
If not leave a breath mint on his pillow.

[NowWhat]

My husband is a smoker and coffee drinker - not to mention a beer drinker. Combine them = awful breath. So, I know what you mean - it's hard to get close to someone when the breath can be offensive.
I am more blunt about it. I ALWAYS have mints on hand and when it is bad - I give him one. He doesn't seem to mind. I also, don't want him talking to other people and they smell his breath - so I think of it as doing him a favor.

[margarita_momma]

My ex-husband had this problem. I actually made him ask a doctor about it when we went to an appointment about for his back. The doctor told him that his was caused from little pockets in the back of his throat getting filled with food when he would eat and would then start to smell after being back there for a while. His solution was for him to brush his teeth twice a day and after brushing to gargle with peroxide for about 30-40 seconds. It will dissolve the food particles and stop the halitosis. He can then gargle with mouthwash to get the nasty peroxide taste out of his mouth. And it worked. He started doing that and within 2 days the smell was gone. I had the same feelings towards my husband that you do towards yours now. He would try to kiss me and I would want to gag at the smell. Try and get him to do other peroxide thing for a while and I am sure it will help. He doesn't have to do it all the time. Get him to do it at every brushing for the first 3-4 days and then he can do it maybe 3 times a week later on. Good Luck.

[kp2171]

few years back in college had a tooth that went bad, caused all kinds of hell later, even after the tooth was fixed. With proper dental care, professional cleaning and reg checkups, and proper daily maintenance, it got better. But I know my wife stopped wanting to kiss me for a time when it got bad.

also, does he drink much? I find beer, much more than wine, will always seem to give me "fuzzy morning after" teeth no matter how well I try to clean the night before.

also, an electric toothbruth is great for general care.

I hope he takes you seriously. I knew I had a problem, but I hated going to the dentist and I put it off. Got a great dentist now and I'm like clockwork.

but even now, I think my wife subconsciously doesn't like to kiss like she did before. There's something missing a little, though I don't see that in any other area of our relationship, sexual or otherwise. She still kisses, but those deep, hard kisses are a little more tentative now, and that only started after the dental stuff.

so I hope he gets a clue. Guys don't like to ask for help. Guys don't like to admit they have problems. Clueless, hairy morons whose talents are erections, lifting heavy things, and sports stats. What's not to love?? =)

[J_9]

There are many reasons for halitosis. One of the medical conditions that comes to mind is H. Pylori. It has very few symptoms OTHER than bad breath, which is the main symptoms. Silent ulcers can also cause bad breath.

He should have a medical AND dental check up to rule out illness and/or tooth decay.

[Wondergirl]

... "opening stuck things." Your list must be why we keep them around.

(Sorry - it posted before I was finished typing.)

[tonsilhelp]

One of the most common reasons someone can have bad breath are from what we call "tonsilloliths" or tonsil stones more commonly referred as.

Here's a site with information on Tonsil Stones with prevention, removal and guides. Cool.

[pilady]

My husband also has bad breath... he just gets angry when I bring it up to him. He says that he takes better care of his teeth than anyone else because he brushed 3 or 4 times a day and uses a waterpic. He doesn't seen to understand that there is no substitute for visiting the dentist for a cleaning every year. He has only been once in the ten years we have been married. He won't go and it is distressing me. I don't want to kiss him because his breath is so bad. The one time he went to the dentist, they told him that they couldn't clean his back teeth because he needed to have his wisdom teeth removed in order to get to all of the built up plaque. He won't do it. He also won't stop chewing tobacco. I'm at the point where I want a divorce. Who wants to spend the rest of their life with a man they don't want to kiss?

[Catsmine]

My husband also has bad breath...he just gets angry when I bring it up to him. He says that he takes better care of his teeth than anyone else because he brushed 3 or 4 times a day and uses a waterpic. He doesn't seen to understand that there is no substitute for visiting the dentist for a cleaning every year. He has only been once in the ten years we have been married. He won't go and it is distressing me. I don't want to kiss him because his breath is so bad. The one time he went to the dentist, they told him that they couldn't clean his back teeth because he needed to have his wisdom teeth removed in order to get to all of the built up plaque. He won't do it. He also won't stop chewing tobacco. I'm at the point where I want a divorce. Who wants to spend the rest of their life with a man they don't want to kiss?

You really need to ask this question as a separate question. Yours seems to deal with your husband's mind, not his breath.

[dustdevil]

Use SUGAR FREE gum. Like Extra Wintergreen. Sugary gum promotes the bad breath. Brush the tongue too. Mine gets coated with food/sugary stuff whatever, and you can actually scrape a film off your tongue. Nasty.

Avoid sugary drinks like the plague. Switch normal soda for diet soda.

Not really anything to be done with morning breath except brush the teeth. I usually avoid kissing my wife in the morning because I'm self conscious about it.

[Coca Cola]

He may have to see a dentist. Sometimes it's an infection...

[QLP]

My hubby also has problems with his breath. He has several problems in that he has stomach problems, asthma which is accompanied by severe catargh, and he eats loads of sugary stuff and drinks loads of sugary drinks which I'm sure adds to it. He is working on the health problems and says he is trying to cut down on the sugary stuff although he still seems to devour mountains of it to me. Anyway he's having a health MOT soon so I'm hoping they might discuss his diet and maybe that will help.

Even when you understand it's not their fault the fact remains it is very hard to kiss someone whose breath smells awful and hard to make love to them or feel close to them when you can't kiss them properly.

I also get the bit about him not understanding it's a problem. My hubby seems to think I'm being mean if I try to tactfully mention it when he tries to kiss me but he has started using mouthwash before kissing me some of the time so he is trying. I have had to persevere for a really long time with helpful suggestions as to what he could do to get any sort of result and it's still not as much as I would like but he is at least trying.

The only thing that bugs me is that he really takes it badly when I have to keep reminding him but if I ever have a hygiene problem he is really blunt about it. When I was ill and sweating with flu for example he just came up to me and said 'you smell.' So now I'm making sure I'm extra extra tactful when I have to say anything so that I can point out I can expect the same if he ever needs to tell me I have a problem.

[QLP]

Actually I've just re-read your message and you say that he does try to do something about it if he knows in advance you are going to be intimate and he has tried to various methods to deal with it so far.
As it had taken ages for me to get my hubby up to this point I do kind of think maybe you're being a little bit hard by saying he won't understand it's a problem. If it's just the fact that he sometimes tried to kiss you without doing the moutwash it's probably because he is just being spontaneous and not thinking. Maybe you can get him to keep a breath freshening spray in his pocket for those kind of moments?