If your mother's breath is this strong, there may be something more to it than what she's been eating.

While you're having the ghastly uncomfortable talk, do urge her to see a dentist, if she hasn't.

In fact, going to the dentist could be a lead in. You could gripe about it -- everyone has dentist stories -- and that could...

You're a grown up only child. That means you're socially adroit enough to do it. Good luck. I'd hate it too. If you're afraid for you, get yourself checked out too.

I was actually just thinking about this topic today.

My dad has really bad halitosis at times. i hate to be honest but his breath often smells like something crawled inside his mouth and died. it doesn't seem like it's regular, everyday halitosis. i noticed his bad breath a couple of years ago. i also noticed that he seems to burping all the time now and maybe it's all connected. i'm worried about his overall health because he doesn't look after himself very well (still smokes at 55)and hates going to the doctor (there's always an excuse why not to go).

anyways, i haven't figured out how to speak to him about this problem. cary's advice seems good, so maybe i'll start there.

Some people have actual problems.

My mom had terrible breath and I didn't know why. Turns out she had a dentist phobia. Once she went back to the dentist, got her teeth cleaned and started drinking more water as he advised , the problem went away. So, not much help as I never confronted her , but I feel your concern. Maybe start by asking about her dental visit record.

Clearly you need to talk to her about it, but how? That is the real question. The following can be applied in many different uncomfortable situations, just fill in the blanks and spit it out. Remember that the discomfort (your discomfort anyway) will only last TEN SECONDS! You can do anything for ten seconds.

You: "Mom [or whoever], this is awkward, and I don't want to put you on the spot, but I've been noticing your breath lately [I think your boyfriend might be gay / I don't like the way you kiss / your cousin can't live with us / etc. ]"

Then, and this is key, give the other person space to react, i.e., don't walk away or say anything. .

Believe me, candor is much better than avoidance; it brings people closer.

On one particularly interesting day, my boss had a ton of work for me to do. For hours upon hours I was putting together graphics on the computer for him. At night I went home and continued on my own computer. Finally, close to 1 a.m., I e-mailed my boss what I had been working on. He responded a few minutes later, thanked me, and proceeded to tell me that I had bad breath. He also added that my breath wouldn't help me with the ladies.

I definitely didn't see that one coming, especially in that way, and a couple friends later volunteered that they thought my breath was fine. I was always good about brushing and semi-good about flossing. But I figured my boss had a sensitive nose, so I bought a tooth scraper, mouthwash, and those little plastic-looking strips you put in your mouth that taste like they put a whole bottle of mouthwash in each strip. I also became a model flosser.

I haven't heard about the subject from my boss since, so I am going to just assume he's pleased. The point I want to get across is that it didn't really change my opinion of my boss. I mostly like him and feel lucky I work for him. His bringing up my breath, even in a not-so-tactful way, was one conversation among the hundreds that we've had. And our relationship is nothing compared to a mother-child bond. It may jar her a little for her to hear it, but it would take a whole lot more to alter the dynamics between the two of you. She might even thank you.

Again this is one of those where we can pretend to give you suggestions about how you can drop subtle hints, by offering gum, discussing flossing and mentioning how you forgot to brush your teeth today and that's just horrible, you hate when people do that.

But really, you can't tell your mom her breath smells bad? Did you not talk to her as a child? Does she just take advice really badly?

Burst out laughing afterwords if you have to, but surely, at some point, you managed to establish enough of a communicative level with your own mother that you can tell her this piece of information.

After The Talk get mom to the dentist *and* make a doctor appointment. It could be something non-trivial.

you need to be ok with that

Cary,

You crack me up!

We actually thought that my mother-in-law was burping some smell up from the depths of her stomach. Where could such an odor come from? And then we convinced her to go to the dentist and get a few teeth fixed. That completely took care of it.

We can't usually smell our own bad breath and she was depressed, not getting out a lot and didn't care very much. But she didn't want her teeth to fall out and worried about eventual dentures, so she fixed her problem and our problem with her problem.

Don't tell her you've been keeping it to yourself all this time and you're ashamed of her. Just say, "Dear God mom it smells like a squirrel died in your mouth! Do you have a bad tooth? Maybe you should get the doctor to look at your stomach? You're not on that no-carbs diet that causes ketosis, are you?"

Breath that bad is a sign of something wrong. You don't fail to mention it and you don't try to fix it with a breath mint. It is mostly likely something easily fixed, but it's also quite possibly something that will KILL HER IF NOT FIXED. Don't kill your own mother because you're too embarrassed to open your mouth! For heaven's sake woman!