MetaChat - What does bad breath smell like to you?

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19 January 2011

What does bad breath smell like to you? →[More:]As long as I can remember, I've always felt like bad breath smells like canned/tinned vegetables (more specifically, the carrot/pea mixture). I'm not expecting anyone else to share that particular sentiment, but do other folks have a specific smell they associate with bad breath?

Yes, this is weird. And yes, it's a slow day at work.

post by: ufez at: 11:36 | 11 comments

Maybe it's terrible to say, but.... old people.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 19 January | 11:50

Uh, decomposition, mostly?

posted by Eideteker 19 January | 11:56

Doesn't it depend on the source of the odor? For example, if you have coffee breath, then your breath will smell like coffee to me.

posted by amro 19 January | 12:03

It smells like rot and death to me. (Seriously, I think of tombs.)

posted by bearwife 19 January | 12:28

Something old and persistent that won't go away. That's how I feel about my [family member]'s breath, and how I feel about my own gross breath when I feel like I have tonsiliths or something else that's been stuck in my throat for a while.

Blecch.

posted by Madamina 19 January | 13:06

Worst-case, excrement or rotting garbage. I think I'll go find a piece of gum...

posted by theora55 19 January | 15:19

I remember seeing an ad in an old magazine from the 40's which said bad breath was caused by constipation. I just googled to find an ad image like that to post here. I couldn't find one but I see that a lot of people still seem to believe in that.

posted by DarkForest 19 January | 16:05

Victory.

posted by mullacc 19 January | 16:11

There are so many bad breath smells!
Coffee breath smells really sour and sharp to me.
Hunger breath smells bitter and musty.
There is some just really foul breath that does smell like rot and garbage.
Onion and garlic breath smells are obvious.
Doritos breath and cornflakes breath are pretty similar, actually which I guess makes sense since they are both corn-based and both are kind of like hay gone bad.

posted by rmless2 19 January | 22:34

Regular brand halitosis smells like sour milk to me - possibly because it's sharp and really acrid. Wino breath is also sour and sharp but with more of a yeast/fruit tang. Garlic breath is sulfurous and coffee breath is something I don't tend to notice unless I have it, in which case I pop a few super-strong mints that I always carry.

posted by ninazer0 20 January | 01:46

Mostly just the bottom of an empty garbage can, the stench you can't seem to wash out of it. Sharp, salty, like dried out rotten meat so old it still offends, but doesn't make you want to vomit.

Then there's funny bad breath, which kind of smells like cat spray, but less skunky.

And garlic breath. Whoo! How can I love the taste and smell of garlic so much, but not the taste and smell of garlic breath?

posted by jabberjaw 20 January | 13:30

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