When I worked at the hospital, I once had a patient, a lady about 80 years, who was very meticulous with her appearance, and brushed her teeth thorougly. The problem was that bad odour.

When I saw that her toothpaste was finito, I bought from health store some natural kind of paste and gave to her. I didn't say anything why.

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Some two weeks later I noticed that her breath didn't smell any longer. I even heard that her son had told the personal, that mother had smelled bad at least thirty years!

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When I worked night, I had a fellow worker that used to take toothpaste in his mouth and keep it there for many minutes, without spitting it out. I understood why he did that: his breath reminded of cow manure from distance.

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I wanted to tell him that his problem could be resolved if he ceased using the paste.

I even started to say something about it, but could not tell much because it caused an awkward silence.

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I had some students to guide, and sometimes I explained this about tootpaste. I even begged them to tell the truth about my breath. They tried to smell but after a while they said: "Your breath doesn't smell anything!"

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Once I met a young immigrant couple that had arrived from another country where hygien was not important and tooth paste not in use. I noticed that their breath had begun to smell.

I said to the girl when she was alone: "Not everything in this country (Sweden) is better than in your country. Many toothpastes cause bad breath, and I realize that you have started using paste, because I now feel that bad odour from a meters distance. Its the same with your boyfriend. Brush your teeth with just water, so you don't have problem any longer!"

I met her some days later: "I don't feel that odour any longer..."

"I wash my teeth with water now", she answered.

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It was good that she listened. There are so many that cannot listen, because nobody tells!

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Some months ago I got a letter from someone that had read in the Internet what I had written:

"I didn't really believe in what you wrote, but I decided to prove it.  I noticed that my breath got better in a few days, and the bleedings in my mouth have ceased after years of problem...."