Dating: On Bad Breath and First Dates
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Bad breath and first dates—have you ever experienced this? String the words together and you get a first date disaster. Just reading about it is cringe-inducing already, what more if we found ourselves in this situation?
Forget kissing, we might spend the entire date trying not to get too close lest we catch the malodorous scent coming off his mouth. Unfortunately, maintaining a safe distance or turning our faces away during the conversation or worse, trying to get away from our date are common and natural reactions which is why for the majority, a case of bad breath is a major deal breaker.
We simply can’t stand the smell.
And this is probably why multiple studies found bad breath as the leading first date concerns, the biggest turn-off, if you may. But what if our date is hot and nice and we want to see him again? Should we not ask him out because of this? Would you not? At the end of the day, this isn’t just an issue on hygiene alone, it could be a medical issue as well and either way it can be remedied.
There’s no getting around it, you will have to tell him, and of course it is hard—no one wants to be the bearer of bad breath news after all. And in this case, it is embarrassing and awkward for both; however experts say good manners dictate that we do so but we do it with tact. Fitzpatrick, founder of The Etiquette School of New York, added that we can be direct in a private setting but if our date is the sensitive type, then we can choose the mint route. The, you know, “I have a gum, would you like some?” line. It’s not the most effective method and your date will most likely decline but Fitzpatrick suggested that we offer a gentle “nudge” by saying, “I think you should.”
That being said, is bad breath a deal breaker for you? Why or why not? Share with us your thoughts and stories in the comments section below.
It is indeed a deal breaker although I would entertain them the first time; but at the end of the visit I rinsed my mouth and use hydrogen peroxide and never invite the person again.
To me, this is a sign of ongoing bad hygiene and no gum nor mint can change this.
Any kind of bad smell is lights out, end of date for me. It don’t matter what he looks like. There is too many hygienic product out there for any kind of body odor. I refuse to offer gum or candy. A person can smell their own breath, arms, cock and butt.. I was in one situation when I met a very hot dude. We live 120 miles apart and had never met. We talked on the phone and even exchanged pics. We decided to meet halfway and talk in my car at a walmart parking lot. He was tall slim and looked way more handsome in person as opposed to his pics. He had dry mouth from the drive and his breath was kicking. I would have gotten a room and had sex with him if it wasn’t for his breath. The conversation was good but I had to turn my head to the driver side window when he talked. I told him that I just remembered I had an engagement that I had to be to and I was happy to have met him. He was kinda upset but understanding. I left thinking and knowing I would never see him again. Peeps his breath was just that bad!!!!!
Dry mouth??!! Didn’t he have anything to drink on the way at least ? Geeze! That’s ashame! Slim guys can be sooo sexy.
I can take a guy who’s been working hard all day and has the body aroma to reflect it , as long as it’s not overpowering . I can handle it if the person is casual in their appearance as long as they don’t outright smell , hell I can put up with a good few things but dragon breath is where I draw the line .
Not too long ago I met a local newsreader face to face . On TV she presents herself as clean , well manicured and well turned out . In real life she can stink out the entire room with her breath . I was flabbergasted .
Many years ago I had a dear friend who was the greatest guy anyone could want to know . But he too had dragon breath . After tolerating it for a long time I decided that if I was him I would want to know so one day I hesitantly but very tactfully brought the subject up .
He actually welcomed the tip off and made the necessary changes and he hasn’t looked back since .
Now, if only I could just be as ‘lucky’ as he is ! !
Wow, a guy can have a small dick, he can be unshowered, he can be rude, overweight/skinny as a twig, he. Annie a whore or a virgin. The one thing he can’t be a my date with bad breath. I have a huge fetish/OCD thing about bad breath. They make several sizes of mouth wash bottles. I keep one in my lunch box, desk, car, bathroom, back pack and even my “I’m coming over to your place pack”. If you drink coffee (I work in Boston at construction sites. Let’s just say everyone I work with has a dunks/Starbucks cup with them at all times). You are forbidden in my office if you had a sip.. I won’t even sugar coat it any more. Not too hard to do a breath test. Bad breath is a NO-FUCKING-GO!!!
Bad breath on ANY date is a big turn off. A smoker kissing a non-smoker is a big turn off! Good oral hygiene is a must in my book. It shows that someone takes pride in themselves.
Bad breath, huh? Well it sort of depends who your with. If your really into your guy, to me it doesn’t matter. Only real turn off to me is heavy smokers breath. (probably because I don’t smoke). My BF and I get into each other, and it doesn’t matter how bad our breath is, and gosh we suck, rim and even fart, and since it’s just us, we share it all, including all our smells. Sex has its smells, and messy times. It’s all part of sharing everything with each other.
Yea dude but sounds very much like chemistry. You might smell bad to the rest of us ,but to each other you smell like pure glory.
my grandfather told me ‘if someone offers you a breathmint, take it.’
it can be difficult to be tactful. I’ll usually say something like ‘first dates make me nervous, so I brought my lucky mints. try one.’
if need be, I’ll press it by saying ‘they’re the cure for garlic. and they taste good. try one.’
I try to be patient, cuz if it’s a good date his breath is going to end up smelling like my cock and/or ass anyway. plus I’m a smoker, another reason to always carry. it’s only polite.
I have been wisely advised that if someone offers me a tissue, mint or gum, I should accept and be aware that I may need it.
Yes it’s a deal breaker for myself, it tells me he doesn’t go to the Dentist.
Oh yea!!…. Another reality. The impress I get is that the guy doesn’t give a shit and expects everyone put up with his. Well any way you put it there’s nothing worse than “shit kisses” to take your stomach for a loop!
Bad breath is definitely a distraction for me. In some cases, it kept me limp and at a distance from intimacy. People who smoke typically have the worst bad breath, but it seems they either are not aware, or they just don’t care.
A cheap and easy solution is to dilute some hydrogen peroxide with an equal amount of water. Swish it around in your mouth for a few seconds and then let it sit until it foams up and fills your mouth. Then spit and rinse with water. This works much better than high priced, chemical laden mouthwashes. It has the added benefit of killing off bad bacteria. If you have issues with infections in the mouth or periodontal disease, hydrogen peroxide can help alleviate the problems. I try to rinse my mouth with hydrogen peroxide after oral sex to reduce the chance of picking up not only an STD, but other bacteria and viruses that cause colds, sore throats and flu.
Another cheap and easy solution is to brush your teeth and top of your tongue with baking soda. I put about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp in the palm of my hand and rub my wet toothbrush in it and then brush my teeth. It doesn’t foam like toothpaste, so it takes a while to get used to, but it does a better job at cleaning than most toothpaste and leaves your breath odor free. My dental hygienist used to spend at least 15 minutes scraping plaque off my teeth when I was using toothpaste. After switching to baking soda, she spends maybe 5 minutes scraping plaque. Baking soda is nontoxic, so you don’t need to call poison control if you swallow some.
I hate that, “I been eatin ass” breath. Just brush regularly!
Take a damn good look at what you’re putting in your bodies…pork and shellfish are the 2 things that can contribute to BAD BREATH! If you KNOW you have bad breath and you step up in someone’s face with it, you’re bound to get your face broke. I cannot begin to tell you the # of guys that get pissy at the fact that I say, “Lips that eat swine, can’t kiss mine.” I’ve smelled breath so bad, it has made my stomach hurt, eyes water, let alone, melt Legos; hell, I have smelled lingering breath on the telephones that are used at work & I don’t even wanna touch them. Bad breath is the #1 killer for a date, next to being a junkie monkey (I don’t trust anyone who does hardcore drugs). If you’re lingering with bad breath, you might as well be sour everywhere else…
Of coarse baking soda is non toxic. That’s what our grand and great grandparents used for anti acid.
This isn’t a deal breaker for me. Rotten or raggedy teeth however, I’ll pass. There are great guys out there that sometimes aren’t on point in the breath department. Sometimes it’s from the food they eat or maybe their ethnicity is different. I haven’t met a guy yet that just reeks to the point of my lunch or dinner turn. Brushing the tongue for me always seems to be the trick for taming breath and that’s for dual purposes. Brushing the tongue freshens the breath and makes your tongue less slimy for kissing or….rougher contact during bjs. It works and definitely drives him wild.
Seriously?
We’ll happily get all dripping sweaty with a guy … many of us will mess with asses and shit … others will play in piss …
And we’re getting our undies bundled about bad breath? Bad breath is a deal killer?
That’s just too damn funny.
care for a mint hunter?
I had a friend that I would kiss on occasion and while his breath always smelled like shit, whenever I kissed him, I didn’t taste what I smelled; It was so odd. After he mentioned to me that he ate a lot of ass I stopped kissing him… He would have morning breath and shit breath. I always wondered what his colleagues thought of him, not to mention that it lingered..
as a smoker i brush several times a day anyway and flossing helps too, and ALWAYS before meeting a guy and keep a travel size mouthwash in my truck hygiene is very important. my ex is a non smoker and he never complained. so i think i have taken care of that issue. i have met non smokers that had serious breath issues from the issues listed above
Look up “tonsil stones”…Since tonsillectomies are not routinely performed like they once were, this is a big problem. That sh*t smell is instantly recognizable and fixable but the awareness isn’t there. People who snore, suffer from allergies and post nasal drip, and can be super-healthy are the ones who suffer from this. Unless someone tells them they don’t know, and even then dentists and doctors don’t seem to address it at all. I suffered with this until I researched it myself. A peroxide of some kind and digging them out physically are the solution every couple days.