Love expert Lola Augustine Brown answers your pressing dating and relationship questions

Dear Lola,

I really, really like this guy. He's smart, good looking, witty, kind, everything I want in a partner. But his breath is terrible. Any suggestions?

Just This Thing Wrong

You're going to have to talk to him. I wonder if anyone has ever told him before or if he is completely oblivious to the problem? There are tons of reasons why he could have halitosis (the medical term for bad breath) and the majority of them are fixable, the difficultly is in broaching this delicate subject with him. You'll be doing him a favour by helping him fix this, because no doubt his colleagues and friends notice too – and if he doesn't suffer from it anymore, everyone is going to find his company a lot more enjoyable. 

This isn't going to be an easy thing to say to him, and I suggest that you do it coupled with a compliment. Say something like, "You know I adore you, and you are everything I'm looking for in a man, but there is something that I'm having trouble dealing with and I'm hoping that you could fix. You have halitosis, and that makes it hard to be around you sometimes, and I'd like to help you get rid of it," and hopefully, after his embarrassment subsides, he'll be open to whatever suggestions you have. If he likes you as much as you like him, he is going to want to fix this too, and if he is smart, he'll know that he need to for his own sake. 

If you look on a medical website such as WebMD you'll see that there are lots of reasons why someone could have halitosis, from smoking to gum issues to intestinal problems. The first step is going to be to get your man to see a dentist, as they'll be able to rule out the myriad of mouth related issues that can cause bad breath, and then make suggestions as to what else it could be if it isn't related to dental issues or poor oral hygiene. 

Good luck. These are the tests in a relationship that make it stronger, and determine whether you'll be able to handle the big stresses throughout life later on. You aren't coming at this man with an unreasonable request, and although nobody likes hearing negative things about themselves, he is a big boy and I'm sure he'll be able to cope.