# How would you tell a date that she (or he) has bad breath? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942 "2012-06-22T14:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942/1 "2012-06-22T14:39:06Z")
[Companion thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=656071). I recall when I was a teen that a friend of the girl I was truly interested in kept trying to hit on me and such, but when we did (briefly) kiss I was turned off by her breath (she was otherwise a perfectly attractive, feminine and perfumed young woman, but I wasn’t about to break the heart of the girl I truly loved in any event), and as such would always pull away from the kiss. I never told her, and she soon hooked up with another [del]poor sap[/del] guy who apparently didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942/2 "2012-06-22T14:42:37Z")
Offer them a mint? ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942/3 "2012-06-22T16:01:59Z")
Offer them some gum. When they say “no thanks,” tell them they really need some gum. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942/4 "2012-06-22T17:06:07Z")
On a first date? I wouldn’t say anything and I wouldn’t call back. On a third date? I wouldn’t say anything, but I wouldn’t let them try to kiss me again. Past that, if it’s just a one-off thing then I’d say “Your breath stinks, hon, have some gum.” If it’s a chronic thing, that’s a dealbreaker. I can’t kiss someone who smells or tastes bad on a regular basis. ecch! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942/5 "2012-06-22T17:15:54Z")
“Anyone can have bad breath Marge, but you could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon.” - George Carlin ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-tell-a-date-that-she-or-he-has-bad-breath/625942/6 "2012-06-22T19:53:08Z")
Offer gum or a mint while taking one myself. If it’s anything less than a stable relationship. With several different boyfriends, I’ve said, “Babe, could you please go brush your teeth and\* then\* come back and lay some sugar on me?” But that was after a while, pretty much after the farting barrier has been broken. 😃