Abstract
This study classified 30 patients of halitosis with psychogenic factor, who terminated psychotherapy using the egogram as a tool, into four groups according to therapeutic results. The four groups were those whose complaint of halitosis disappeared as 1) cured cases and 2) improved cases, and those whose complaint did not disappear as 3) cases that did not change and 4) drop-out cases. Each case group was studied in base of their egogram characteristics and clinical observation, and it was inferred that the majority of cases of halitosis with psychogenic factor could be considered to be in a neurotic level, but that some cases could be suspected to be in the borderline level.
Moreover, some factors considered to be important in the therapy of patients with halitosis of psychogenic factors were discussed, and these were:
1) a firm therapeutic structure, 2) enough acceptance of the complaint, 3) need of interpersonal experience for which the egogram as a therapeutic tool was useful to mirror characte-ristics of human relationships both in events of daily life as well as with the therapist, and lastly 4) awareness that such characteristics are rooted in early life is desirable, especially in lighter cases.
