How do you tell a person he/she got bad breath?

Question

You are co-workers.
You avoid talking to him/her bec of his/her bad breath but he still talks to you. Worse, he talks to you for a long time.
How do you tell him that his has bad breath (not just garlic/onion or coffee breath) without offending him?

Answer 1

tell him straight out in private. be lighthearted about it. He may be offended for a bit but it's better for both you, him, and anyone else.

Answer 2

It will offend him when you tell him and be embrassing for a few momnets but in the long run he will thank you offer him a mint and tell him why, my son had bad breath and we kept telling him to clean his teeth and use mouth wash it was only after a few days when he still had breath that we realized something was wrong, he had an infection n his tounge which get treated and now his breath is fine, you co-worker may have an infection or something worse so pluck up the nerve and tell him.

one way could be to email him from an anonymous email address and politely explain why you have sent the email.

Answer 3

Talk about breath a lot. I know this sounds like a horrible tactic but it works. My ex-best friend used to have breath like she was eating sour milk and rotten eggs and overboiled cabbage. I would pop a mint or gum in my mouth and say things like, "Oh my gosh, Orbit really does make your mouth all minty!" which sounds really nerdy, but it was better than suffering that nasty odor. I regularly offered her gum/mint as well, and after a while she got the jist (or is it gist?) of it and got that grossness cleaned up.

Hope it goes well with your coworker. Try leaving around packs of Altoids and gum.

Answer 4

When I was in college I was in your situation. One of my best friends had a really bad (and I mean BAD) breath. Every time she talked to me I wanted to throw up.

I didn't want to hurt her feeling, but I knew that I had to tell her because everybody was making fun of her.

So I wrote her a letter (anonymously, of course) in which I explained to her that I liked her a lot and that I consider her like a sister, and that was the reason why I didn't want to hurt her feelings but I didn't want other people to make fun at her either. I told her that she should look for an specialist because of her bad breath, that sometimes bad breath has something to do with gastrointestinal problems.

Then I guess that she followed my advice, because her "problem" was over.

Answer 5

We have one of the nicest doctors in the world who comes to our unit every day. When he corners you in a small room, it seems as though you could faint from the aroma. We've tried offering him breath mints and those breath strips. He smiles and puts them in his pocket. Maybe you could ask your immediate supervisor to have a talk with your co-worker. It's obviously affecting more than one person. I feel for you.

Answer 6

The big thing seems to be offer them a mint or gum.
I wonder if every time I am offered a peice of gum or a mint, does my breath smell bad?
Or are they just trying to be nice about it?

Answer 7

Ask him if your breath smells and breathe on him or something, then he'd wonder if his does too. Or just pop a mint or piece of gum in your mouth and ask if he'd like one. Sure, there's a chance he'd say no, but there aren't many ways to break it to him without hurting his feelings.

Answer 8

I know you only mean well but I guess theres no good way to tell something that they have bad breath. I would suggest offering them a mint or piece of gum. Good luck! :)

Answer 9

Be honest and tell him. You are offended by his breath, but you don't want to offend him by telling him? Just tell him; if he doesn't do anything about it, have your conversations with your hand held in front of your nose. If his breath is that bad, he may have an undiagnosed health problem.

Answer 10

first make sure your breath is not offensive because you don't want to be a hypocrite and say in a firm i mean business kinda voice " your breath is fowl." hand them a mint and your dentists business card walk away and hope that when you return the person is either
a: to angry to talk to you, and doesn't annoy you with his or her awful breath.
or
b: has fixed their rank smelling breath, and is now pleasant towards you and more minty.

Answer 11

well its better that he knows so i would just tell him that i dont mean to be rude or offending but your breath smells rather bad! do you want a mint or some gum!