how to tell your spouse something he is doing is grossing you out?

[Anonymous]

I don't know why I can't figure this out, but it's hard. My DH would probably say I often don't have a problem telling him what I am unhappy with.

He doesn't clean his mouthguard at night. He gives it a cursory (2 second) rinse in the morning. (And this is a guy who up until now, always seemed obsessed with oral hygiene, brags to me about his "perfect" teeth - according to our dentist.)

Unfortunately, he puts it in right as he finishes brushing at night. So it sits in his mouth for 10-20 min before we actually go to sleep. And then his breath smells disgusting. I'm not sure he even knows it. Like - I can't even kiss him anymore (of course, he removes it first) - it smells so bad, and now, psychologically, I can't stop thinking about the bacteria in there. And I am in no way a germophobe.

I tried to bring it up a few days ago but it didn't really register.

How do I address this in a non-hurtful way?

[Anonymous]

My DH does this too, takes it off, rinses and put it away until the night time. I take it and clean it for him. I've mentioned it several times but he doesn't care and since I do, I do the cleaning/brushing myself (I handle with a pair of thongs ofcourse).

Then again, I'm a germophobe.

[Anonymous]

Why can't you just say "Sweetems, I've noticed that your breath smells bad after you put in your mouthguard - I think you may need to clean it with something extra strength to get rid of whatever is causing it."

[Anonymous]

we pop ours in a glass of water and use polident to clean it. just start doing it.