My partner breath always smells what do I do?

[strawo]

He apparently brushes his teeth at work and sent me a photo of his tooth brush and tooth paste at work saying he works with the public ofc he brushes

Yet he stinks all the time; he smokes and doesn't have a good diet

He only has a handful of back teeth and all have fillings.

Surely he is lying about brushing or doesn't brush properly? How doesn't he know how to brush properly

I made a joke saying that's not long enough to brush your teeth to him then finally snapped and said you need to brush each tooth? And yet he got so defensive and said he does that was just a quick brush

But he smells so bad all the time. What do I do?

Leave kissing him, how do you stand him. This with his unhygienic family would be dumped a long time ago. If you notice it, others definitely have too and probably wondering about you too!

Sorry but this was one (of many)) of the reasons why I left my ex... absolutely vile and to be honest, I don't think you can get a grown man to change at that point!

I was imagining him as some older guy who'd just given up on his teeth but he is a young man? You can do better.

I thought this. I can't think of a way to say anything without sounding horrible, but why on earth are you with him @strawo ??? He sounds grim.

To be fair I grind my teeth so badly I've broken my wisdom tooth recently even with a mouth guard in
But if he grinds he needs a guard

Just dump him, OP. He’s dirty and stuck in his ways. What’s the point in it?

He'll need to start with brushing and flossing twice a day. That may help alot

I have a huge sweet tooth as well and only have a cavity because of the way my wisdom tooth was leaning against another

But if he didn't have good dental hygiene as a child (brushing at least once a day) unfortunately his teeth would be screwed in adulthood, so it's sad when some parents don't reinforce this or children have multiple cavities

Get him an electric toothbrush that tells you when two minutes are up. Mine is Sonicare and it buzzes every 30 seconds to let you know.

Could he consider vaping to solve that aspect?

But also, I think you need a frank conversation with him and see if he will commit to changing.

Book him an appointment with the hygienist.

I grind my teeth for years and years and they are damaged but more that they are worn down. One did crack at the back and ended up having to be removed. I still don’t stink.

There are stomach issues that can cause it too but it could be gum disease tbh. This is why like I said I left my ex it just made me feel sick I couldn’t bear the thought of kissing him and avoided him!

No one should have to be buying a grown adult man a toothbrush and supervising him to brush his teeth. He doesn’t care OP he won’t change

It may not actually be his teeth that are the cause. Smoking leaves a film inside the lungs that smells bad as you breathe out.

Gum disease stinks a lot and is caused by poor dental hygiene. He needs treatment by a periodontist.

He's never going to improve his dental hygiene OP.

It's who he is and is comfortable having a disgusting smelly mouth.

How long have you been with him op? Has it always been a problem?

@strawo

If he has gum disease and bad teeth in general (which you've said he does) it could be that it actually hurts to brush his teeth. There might also be blood after brushing which frightens him.

Or it could be that his parents just never saw it as a "thing" so he doesn't take it seriously and thinks you're just being fussy.

Either way, he really should see someone about it. I don't suppose you know if the dentist talks to him about oral health. They usually do. He obviously isn't listening.

Can you get him to go to the doctors?

@Menora so him at 15 years old wouldn't have cracked his teeth from grinding it must have been bad hygiene

In the nicest possible way @strawo, can I ask how you got together? Did his breath smell then?

I've had a boyfriend with bad breath in my 20's but he definitely brushed and flossed and used mouthwash as I stayed so often I saw this. Poor guy was obviously aware of it and trying his best, but it must have been more than just dental hygiene

@ginasevern his dad has convinced him dentists are out to make your teeth worse with things in tooth paste and he should only use a certain one. Yet happily took a filling because his tooth ache was so bad without a care as to what is in a filling

He also used whitening strips the other week rather than just floss etc and for the first time ever he looked clean. It didn't whiten them any they just looked clean

@namechangedforthisone123456 no it didn't somehow, but I noticed it after maybe a month or two but he quickly got a filling and it sorted it for a while then back to how it was before the filling

He does need to see a dentist, but also Blis K12 oral probiotics are supposed to be brilliant for bad breath, and have other benefits too. Be careful with them if immune compromised though.

@strawo do you think he was on best behaviour when dating and now he's let himself go?
As crude as this is... would he want to give you oral sex if you didn't wash for a couple of days mid summer? I doubt it.

Unless he goes to GP and dentist, changes his diet and brushes his teeth, flosses and mouthwash twice daily every single day, I'd be ending this.

You can't live like this.

He might have bad gum disease. I brush beautifully but I’m still very susceptible to gum disease so I get proper private hygienist cleanings every 3 months. My dentist says it’s largely genetic.

also is he dehydrated? That can cause terrible breathe. Does he use mouthwash at all? Or interdental brushes?

final thing he could check is if he has tonsil stones as they can smell disgusting and many people can’t see they have them until you have a poke around and then they pop out.

dental hygiene has lots to do with the rest of your health so it’s really important to take it seriously. I have to say that switching to a private dentist was a gamechanger for me as I never felt fully looked after in NHS and I really want to have strong healthy teeth.

In my head I'm picturing a set of teeth like a crack addict? Is that similar or completely wrong @strawo?

Get him a electric toothbrush with the timers on some floss and oral b professional toothpaste followed by mouth wash