Abstract
In this study, we investigated the profile of patients visiting an outpatient clinic for oral malodor and assessed the relationship between the responses to an oral malodor questionnaire and the diagnosis made with an odor-measuring device. An attempt was also made to gain an understanding about the predisposition of patients with psychological malodor to anxiety disorders. The data of 363 patients who visited the special clinic for oral malodor at the Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital from January 2009 to December 2011 were analyzed in this study. The patients were asked to complete the oral malodor questionnaire that contained items to determine the demographic variables, the presence/ absence and duration of the perceived oral malodor, the possible causes for the perceived malodor, and its influence on the social and home lives of the individual, and the presence/ absence of a person(s) to whom the individual could communicate his/her concerns. Oral malodor was measured using the Oral ChromaTM gas chromatograph, targeting the CH3 SH concentrations. Patients were divided into oral malodor-positive and -negative groups, based on the need for treatment to reduce the malodor. Although the prevalence of subjects who were conscious of oral malodor exceeded 80%, half of the individuals were subsequently diagnosed as not having oral malodor. No significant association was found between oral malodor perception and the presence/ absence of malodor. The findings from the present study indicate that a multidimensional approach, including from the psychological aspect, is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of oral malodor. In patients with psychological oral malodor, it may be possible to capture a predisposition to anxiety disorders without performing other analyses, such as with Egogram, by evaluating the results from the oral malodor questionnaire and the objective measurement.
Nihon Shishubyo Gakkai Kaishi (J Jpn Soc Periodontol) 55(1):15-23, 2013.
