Bad breath is a common but embarrassing issue. A new survey from Affordable Dentures & Implants revealed that 60 percent of people in New York have been given a heads-up by someone that their breath doesn’t smell so good. 

Most people, 70 percent in New York, said that if their partner’s breath stank they’d tell them, and 28 percent had already told them once or twice.

Almost 40 percent of people also said they would tell their friends or family members. The percentage of people who said they’d be willing to give their colleague a heads-up about this delicate topic was 21 percent, while 12 percent said they would tell anyone they know and 6 percent said they would even tell a stranger.

But how do we raise the issue when we do decide to give someone the bad news? Most commonly, 68 percent of people in New York said they would just be direct. Meanwhile 28 percent take a more subtle approach by offering breath mints or chewing gum. Less popular methods include texting them later (1 percent) or even, rudely, making a face or covering their nose (2 percent).

Of those who had been told by someone that their breath smelled less than fresh, 29 percent of people said it was their partner who told them. For 21 percent, it had been a family member and for 12 percent it was a friend.

The full report can be found in the report online at www.affordabledentures.com/blog/smelly-breath-survey.