Bad breath. It is easy to tell if you have an issue with bad breath, and to rectify it. A simple oral hygiene routine can keep your breath fresh most of the time. But, what do you do if a close friend or a semi-close friend has a case of bad breath? Do you tell them? Do you not tell them? Normally, I would say mind your own business and don’t worry about their breath … and that you would end up hurting their feelings in the process of informing them of their breath situation. However, in this case I have to say that if you are reading this article that means you are so concerned with dealing with this situation in a diplomatic way that you might be the best person to break the news to them..rather than leave it up to someone else who may not be so gentle about it. Obviously if this is a sister, mother, aunt, or best friend … just tell them. It isn’t a big deal, and they’ll be glad that you did.
If you are on a first date, or meeting your brother’s girlfriend for the first time. ..KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. In situations where you are just meeting someone situations that already have intense amounts of stress involved … just don’t add any. When you have bad breath you eventually figure it out…so assume they will too.
However, if this is an ongoing situation and people have discussed it behind this person’s back then it is time to intervene. Don’t be weird about it…don’t send an anonymous note or email … this will just leave the person obsessing and wondering who sent it…and feel really embarrassed. In this situation the best thing to do is to say something to them like “god, my breath stinks!” and pop a mint and offer one to them. If you are throwing yourself under the bus first then they know this is a common problem and they won’t feel so singled out. Also, if you have ice breakers or some kind of flavored mint make a comment about how “I used to never know when my breath would stink so I’d pop these every so often, they’re amazing!” Anything more aggressive than that is going to make them feel bad. Minding your own business is always the best idea, but only intervene if you think someone else will take it upon themselves to do something about the problem in a rude way.