How Oral Hygiene Affects Your Relationship

Dr Sonal Bhoot

6.6k Reads

Updated: 29 Oct, 2022

Table of Contents

Bad breath can strain connection; address it gently and work toward a solution together to grow closer.
Open conversation invites care; talk early, use non-judgment, and try practical steps like toothpaste, floss, or a dentist visit to support your partner.
Commitment and support matter most for growing closeness; prioritize trust and health and face challenges as a team.

As humans, we are very sensitive to body odor, one of them being bad breath. So, how does bad breath affect a relationship?

Imagine talking to someone and all you can think of is how bad their breath smells.

Do you continue to talk to them? Or do you make your excuses and run?

If you can’t stand talking to them, you are not going to want to kiss them!

People judge you on everything. It’s just what we do as humans. When we think about dating someone we have certain standards that we want.

We all choose to ignore certain flaws within ourselves and relationships, however, some issues are harder to ignore.

Is poor oral hygiene hurting your relationships?

Let me talk you through ways bad oral hygiene can affect your relationship, so you can imagine situations, and what you would do.

A smile

This is one of our strongest features when it comes to attracting a partner. They say the eyes are the gateway to our souls, so is our smile a key to our hearts?

This can be a big deal breaker with relationships.

Imagine looking across the room and seeing this beautiful smile, as you go over and start a conversation you are hit with this overwhelming smell.

Are you going to continue the conversation and try to ignore it ? or would this become a problem?

Bad breath

Bad breath can be caused by many factors.

The food and drink we consume can have a huge impact on our mouths. Now, most people will have bad breath at some point during their lives, however, we can choose to ignore it or choose to deal with it.

The bacteria in our mouths will be passed from person to person via many things. Are you going to want someone’s saliva in your mouth if they have bad breath?

The smell and the taste will be forever embedded in your brain!

Intimacy

Everyone has different levels of intimacy and also different ways of expressing it. A very affectionate part of intimacy is kissing.

Imagine you wake up with your partner, you both have bad morning breath. You get up, do your daily routine, which includes brushing your teeth and then carrying on with your day.

Now imagine that smell every day due to bad oral hygiene.

Are you going to choose to ignore it and hope it goes away? Or do you want to solve the problem?

Do you have children, or want children in the future? Are you worried that you or your partner may pass something on to them? Do you worry that your children will grow up not understanding the seriousness of good oral hygiene?

You could be worried that your oral health will get worse during pregnancy. And, your oral health can deteriorate during pregnancy.

The truth

Eventually, your partner will start to realize that something is wrong. Would you want your partner to feel that they cannot talk to you?

Sometimes the truth hurts, however, lies hurt more.

Be honest, they may not know how much of a problem it actually is. The underlying health problems that have been linked to bad oral hygiene, will be far worse than having to tell your partner how you feel.

Underlying health problems

Underlying health problems Tooth decay, gum disease, and heart disease are just a few that can be linked to bad oral hygiene.

You wouldn’t want to have any of these problems and you wouldn’t want your partner to have them either.

You see many adverts on TV about oral hygiene, but what they don’t tell you is, how serious it can become if you don’t practice good oral hygiene.

If your partner had an ear infection, you would want to help them. So why do we choose to ignore it when we notice bleeding gums?

Tooth loss can be caused by bleeding gums. Even if you can get past it within your relationship, how will this affect your partner?

They will have to deal with the fact of people asking questions. Will they stop going out due to embarrassment.? How will it affect their self -esteem?

Think about the impact it would have on your relationship, emotionally and physically. If you feel unattractive yourself then, your partner will not find you attractive as well.

Infections

When it comes to infections we all know how easily they can spread. Our mouths hold a lot of bacteria, would you share your toothbrush with someone who had an infection?

I’m guessing many of you wouldn’t, so would you feel comfortable kissing them if you knew it would spread to you?

The conversation

There are a number of ways that you can bring the topic of oral hygiene up with your partner. Choosing which one is best depends on how your partner is going to take it.

Try talking about someone else’s oral hygiene. See if they comment on this too as they may not know they have a problem. If they think they may need to improve their oral hygiene then this might be a little push in the right direction.

Try buying some different oral hygiene products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, etc. You can also choose to book a dentist appointment for your partner.

Ask your partner how they feel about these changes. Give them lots of encouragement and support.

You can also try the direct approach. If you have tried everything else, then this may be your last resort.

You don’t have to be mean about it. Make sure to put yourself in their shoes whilst explaining.

Is it worth ending your relationship?

Do you really want to end it or are you prepared to fight for it?

Think carefully about the whole relationship, both good and bad points. Also, think about how better oral hygiene leads to better relationships.

Oral hygiene isn’t a problem that has no way out. If the problem can be solved with some time and support, then it’s worth holding on

Give your partner the support they need. If you feel there is no other way, and it’s starting to hurt them, take a decision that is best for both of you in the long run.

Think carefully before you jump to any decisions. It can be very hard to go back on something you said in the spur of the moment, especially if your partner has been hurt in the process whether you meant to or not.

Final thought

Relationships are built on trust. Talking to your partner is essential for both of you.

We all have problems in life that we need to overcome. Having someone to help you along the way makes a huge difference.

Keeping good oral health is easy. If any problems arise and you are not sure of ways to tackle them, don’t hesitate to seek the right help and support from the dental experts.

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