A man’s 14-word confession left his wife ignoring him when he got personal about her oral hygiene – but many backed the man and said what he was urging her to do was important
If your partner told you that your breath didn’t smell good, you’d likely be offended.
Telling someone not very nice about the way they smell, look, or dress can be really tough, but if you feel it’s in their best interest to know, you may go ahead and give them your opinion regardless of how much it may upset them. One man said that his wife “developed horrible breath” around a year ago, describing her breath as “breath that wants to make you puke”.
It wasn’t for lack of trying with current oral hygiene, however, as she “brushes her teeth every morning and night”, but he said that she “has cavities”.
“Sometimes I get woken up by nothing more than her breathing in my face”, he commented, saying that his wife never visited the dentist as a child, so she’s “scared”. “Every time I bring it up she gets defensive and says we don’t have the money or we don’t have insurance”, he wrote on Reddit.
The man continued: “We were at a school function for my daughter earlier today and as we were waiting in line she was talking into my face and I got a whiff of her sulfuric a** breath. I made a face and backed away from her. She got mad and wouldn’t talk to me until we sat down to eat.
“While we were eating she said I was being a jerk for making that face. To which I replied, in a whisper that nobody else could hear, ‘I wasn’t being a jerk. It was just my reaction. You have cavities that need to be filled before they rot your teeth out’.” His 14-word confession made her not talk to him until they left.
He continued: “I said I was sorry but that didn’t change the fact that she needed to see a dentist. She replied ‘you embarrassed me in front of everyone. We don’t have money or insurance and I don’t care about a cavity. You’re just over-exaggerating to make me feel bad in front of everyone’. That was the last thing she said to me.”
In the comments, people said that the man wasn’t being unreasonable, with one writing: ” Her fears and embarrassment are understandable, but not an excuse. Is she this way with other doctors and appointments? If not, stress to her that going to the dentist is not a matter of aesthetics or nice-smelling breath, it is a matter of health. And the longer she puts it off, the more expensive and irreversible the damage will be.”
Another urged her to address her issues, penning: “The longer she waits the more likely she will have complications. Please please please urge her to face her fears and deal with this before she needs root canals.”
Others hoped that her husband would try a different approach, commenting: “Not the a**hole, but try a few different approaches like:
* Let her know that dental health can cause cardiac health issues. Express your concern for her health.
* If cost is on her mind, explain that a root canal and crown will be so much more expensive if she lets it get farther than where it is now. It might be too late.
* Let her know that you’re concerned about her quality of life if she starts losing her teeth.
* Be an example: Ask her if she’d like to attend your next exam/cleaning to meet your dentist, see the office, see the process, and maybe ease her mind. Offer to go with her for her appointment.
* Offer to help her find a dentist who works with dental fear and possibly sedation dentistry.”
Do you have a story to share? Email: [email protected]
