How would you tell your colleague that they have bad breath?

The workplace should be a safe environment for everyone. But it wouldn’t be so safe and comfortable if we have that one colleague who likes to talk but has bad breath. This could cause colleagues to start avoiding one another. LifeXtra takes a look at how people would tell their colleague who has bad breath without upsetting or making then feel bad.

It can be extremely difficult to tell your colleague that he/she has bad breath. This is mainly because we do not know how they would react. Some people might take it well while others won’t. This can generate bad blood in the work environment, become a topic for gossip or worse still, drive wedges between friends. Let us see how some people would handle this matter.

Emeka Okoro, 42, said he has had to deal with something like this where he works. “This is not new to me because I once had to tell a colleague that she had very bad breath. I noticed that anytime the woman comes close to me to talk, her breath stunk. I started avoiding getting into deep conversations with her because I didn’t want to tell her, neither did I want to continue talking to her because the odour was really unbearable. We were really good friends so having deep conversations was really inevitable.

“I started looking for ways to tell her. Fortunately for me, there was a valentine exercise we engaged in. We were asked to pick a partner we would exchange gifts with. I saw that as my opportunity to tell her. I went to a good dental organization, got some recommended toothpastes, dental floss, mouth wash and toothbrushes. When I gave her my gifts, it gave her a hint. She didn’t really understand why I got her those kinds of gifts so she came to ask me why and I told her what I noticed. She was sad and embarrassed. I told her not to be because I didn’t want other people to tell her and I also didn’t know how to tell her. She cried because she felt really embarrassed. I told her not to be embarrassed and that was the beginning of the end of her bad breath. That’s how I told my colleague she has a bad breath,” he said.

Franca Eze, 38-year-old nurse, said she told her colleague he had bad breath casually. “I work in a hospital and I didn’t really apply tact when I told my male colleague he had bad breath. He was a laboratory attendant and I noticed that his mouth emitted bad smell anytime we talked. It was something that started suddenly. He didn’t have that before. So, I told him really casually what I observed and I advised him to see a doctor. He saw one and he was told it was a kind of bacteria that was growing on his tongue and making it white. The condition is called ‘Oral Thrush’. So, he got it treated. I didn’t really think I had to beat around the bush because we were really close. The good thing about it is that he didn’t feel bad after I told him. He even thanked me for telling him quickly,” she said.

Ali Mohammed, a wristwatch vendor in Kano, said he gained a very good friend because he told him he had bad breath. He said, “There’s this customer that always comes to my shop to buy in bulk. I always move my face away anytime he tries to talk to me. This went on for about a year before I summoned the courage to tell him. I told him indirectly by suggesting he changes his toothpaste and toothbrush. When he didn’t get the hint, I told him he had bad breath. He was really grateful and that made us good friends. We are now more like family friends. He appreciated the fact that I had the courage to tell him. Most of the people who suffer from conditions like this usually do not know that they have it. It falls on us to help them overcome it.”