It’s fairly common to be afraid of the dentist, but unfortunately avoidance can lead to much bigger problems down the road.

So when one man refused to go, his wife couldn’t help but notice his teeth rapidly deteriorating.

Then finally one day, his chronic bad breath finally pushed her to her breaking point.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for asking my husband to go to the dentist?

My husband is terrified of the dentist and has never been as long as we’ve been together (8 yrs).

But lately his avoidance has been causing some major issues.

He’s had a lot of issues with them and although he always looks after his teeth, his oral hygiene seems to be getting worse.

Recently, one of his teeth has broken and caused bad breath.

It’s been really impacting their relationship, so she decided to speak up — but he wasn’t happy about it.

I’ve told him he needs to get it checked because it’s making me not want to kiss him.

He’s said that I’m making something out of nothing and basically being mean to him.

I feel bad, but I had to say something.

Her words weren’t meant to shame him, but to help him.

What did Reddit have to say?

There are options for people with severe anxiety about the dentist.

If she really wants to cajole her husband into going, she’ll have to lead with care and compassion.

Fear is only natural, but going to the dentist is too important to avoid forever.

When the dentists know about the fear upfront, sometimes they can be better equipped to help.

She may have sounded harsh in the moment, but she was right to say what needed to be said.

They can’t just pretend everything’s fine forever.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.