Kindly say:Your breath is a bit further from sweet than I believe you'd like

Let's be hypothetical for a bit:

My friend just had an operation and is in hospital. This is a friend from church and today being a Sunday afternoon I know the church ladies are going to go visit her as a group later. I decide to go in before they do...for some unknown reason, talking about my shenanigans seeems to bring comfort to these mothers of saints.
On arrival at my friends bed, she shouts 'hello' and I am attacked by a stench so foul I almost think there's a bedpan under her to explain this smell. Its when she opens her mouth again that my hunt for the unpleasant odor ends.
We said our greetings while I worry about Renda's head spinning as a result of the unfamiliar smell he surely is experiencing for the first time.

Since we have only about 15 minutes before our church temporarily relocates to this bedside, I take the bull by the horns and have this conversation:

Me:     So, how are you feeling.
Her:    Much better,the op went well.
Me:     Did you bath fine by yourself then?
Her:    No, the nurse cleaned me.
Me:     Did you brush your teeth?
Her:    No, she didn't brush my teeth.

I pause...she had an appendix removed. There's nothing wrong with her hands from where I'm standing.

Me:     Can you walk?
Her:    Yes, I walked the my cousin and my uncle and my other friend out.
Me:     Okaaay. So a oupla people have been here neh?
Her:     Yes, seven people have already been here today.People luuurrve me.
Me:      If you can walk why didn't you walk to the basin and brush your teeth?Your mouth smells bad.
Her: Oh,ok.

*gets up and goes to brush her teeth*
I wait and plump up her pillows as she touches herself up after giving her mouth some much needed love. Just as she gets back into the bed, I hear the melodious voice of one of the church ladies coming thru the passage. I quickly say my goodbyes and exit using a different door.
  Now, of the seven people that took their time to go see her, did not one of them see it fit to encourage her to brush her teeth? Sometimes it hurts to be told things about yourself that you may not realise. Trust me, it hurts more to be the one to say it. I'd rather the first person tells me, thus giving me a chance to amend it should I wish to...than have six other people come and smell my supper from two days ago. Its embarrassing, but it didn't have to be seven times embarrassing. In my opinion, I feel I may have said something that made her heart palpitate just a lil...but stopped the chain of people who found her with a smelly mouth at count eight.
Who knows how many more people would have come and gone without saying a word? Some just to go say it behind her back.

This goes for the friend who exposes too much boob, butt crack, too much makeup or perfume. Sometimes people just aren't aware of these things y'know.
Its our responsibility to be honest with those we love. Love isn't always daisies and ponies.