Would you tell someone they need to brush their teeth or floss?

I had a best friend once, and at lunch we would get slushies. I always got blue he always got red, my teeth stayed white his teeth stained pink, like little fuzzy pink slippers around his teeth. It was gross how much plaque he had caked up on his gum line and between his teeth. And one day I found some courage to tell him, and he said he already knew, and didn't like brushing or flossing. less

I had a best friend once, and at lunch we would get slushies. I always got blue he always got red, my teeth stayed white his teeth stained pink, like little fuzzy pink slippers around his teeth. It was gross how much plaque he had caked up on his gum line and between his teeth. And one day I found some courage to tell him, and he said he already knew, and didn't like brushing or flossing. less

I'd offer them a mint or piece of gum for sure. If someone has something in their teeth I will tell them because it bothers me.

I HATE it when I walk around with stuff in between my teeth or stuff on my face. If you are one of those people who are like "Well I didn't want to say anything because it would embarrass you" yeah, walking around all day looking like a hot mess and getting home and finding out nobody told you is much less embarrassing! I always try to nicely tell people that they have something on their face or whatever. less

LOL

You are a good friend. I can't help but stare just for a second when I notice someone has layers of... stuff... on their teeth.

Wow. They jsut didn't like flossing or brushing? LOL. Yikes. Well, at least they won't be getting fluoride poisioning for a good while. Ha Ha Ha. Hey, I don't like brushing either. It sucks. It's messy and it burns and I hate standing there for 4 minutes everday, but I can't stand the feeling in my mouth when I get up. I HATE it. It just feels dirty. It's like a weird cool feeling. I don't know how to explain it, but it bothers me so much that there's only 2 things I can do before heading straight to my trusty ol' toothbrush, baking soda & OraMD, and that is pee (which a lot of times, peeing even has to wait! or smoke.) Hey, why not get the smoke done before brushing?

Even if I did not care about the icky mouth feeling myself, that comes from not brushing, I think I'd at least wanna spare the poor fella who has to be close to me. LOL.

I'm bad though. I don't say anything! I know, it's horrible, but I soooo don't want to hurt feelings. So I just stay quiet. However, sometimes I'll be sneaky and bring up the problem (like, if it's their teeth with "fuzzy pink slippers" LOL) I'll just say something about it like "gosh, I hope I don't have crap on my teeth. That bugs the heck out of me. Do I have crap on my teeth?" And sometimes, sometimes it's like a super subtle way of bringing it to their attention without going there. Lol.

Now there was this girl in school with me. Oh dear Lord! Even to this day, people (such as myself) STILL remember! Hate to be rude, but the smell would literally take your breath away! We felt bad for her, being her friends, so we would all try to offer her gum and any kind of mint, but it did not work! So we figured she must seriously have a condition... halitosis? I mean I've never smelled breath that strong in my life. It honestly smelled like death. Almost like something was dead inside her throat. I definitely think she knew about it. She HAD to have known, plus, some of our friends did mention it to her. Also, people would cover their nose while talking to her, but she really never showed any signs of caring. She wouldn't try to hold back, she would breath in your face. So we finally just said what the hell, and quit trying. If she is okay with it, we shouldn't press it & so we just carried out the next several years keeping a slight distance or holding our breath. less

You could also be subtle. Walk in with a plastic baggie with a toothbrush, floss, toothpaste and tiny mouthwash. Say "I was just at my dentist, and he gives these out at dental cleanings (they really do), then say "none of these are the brands I use, here, why don't you take them?". less

Apparently people with bad breath, really bad breath, the kind that "creeps up & guts your nose", (thanks for that .k cat!, ), don't smell it themselves! They only know if other's point this out. Now, it shouldn't be strangers or someone trying to hurt their feelings, but as others have said, it can be done in a nice way. But, there are times when you have to hold your breath because you either can't say anything, or they won't take any hints!

Even my dentist was torn about a patient they could all smell through their masks & made them all sick during her visits. I told her that she was a health professional & needed to at least address it once in a professional manner, because this could be a symptom of a medical problem. If they were that repulsed by it, it's obviously not normal & she could be polite, but direct about it since she has the perfect excuse of caring for the patient's health.

After having a lab partner for chemistry in high school who had horrid breath, I understand the predicament. She was a nice girl, I liked her fine, but everybody else, including many teachers were NOT nice to her. I tried my best to help her, but she was resistant & eventually blew it off, not believing she had a problem! So, sometimes you can't help, even though you try.

We also had a girl with bad underarm odor, good lord, it was atrocious. The nurse had to have a talk with her. Before that she couldn't understand why people were leaving deodorant in her in box. She was just used to the smell & from a culture that didn't wear deodorant. My father had a run in with someone from the same culture & finally had to threaten to throw the physician out of the residency program because he would not wear any deodorant & no one could stand to be in the surgical suite with him! He refused to change because it didn't bother him & he thought they were being stuck up North American's. When he almost lost his spot in the program he finally complied.

So, my point is, maybe they don't care to live by anyone else's standards? But I would at least attempt an "intervention&quo t;, if I knew them well enough. Whether they take any sort of direction from it, is another matter!

EDIT: sorry for the novel less

Hahah "Almost like something was dead inside her throat." There was a girl at my school too like that. If she even whispered her stench would creep up and gut my nose. Luckily for me we weren't friends at all, we actually hated each other so I wasn't too concerned about hurting her feelings. less

I had a best friend once, and at lunch we would get slushies. I always got blue he always got red, my teeth stayed white his teeth stained pink, like little fuzzy pink slippers around his teeth. It was gross how much plaque he had caked up on his gum line and between his teeth. And one day I found some courage to tell him, and he said he already knew, and didn't like brushing or flossing. less