Prevalence and Social Importance of Halitosis
Information regarding the prevalence of breath
malodour is scarce. It is very difficult to determine the exact number or
percentage of the population who have oral malodour since there is a lack of
epidemiological studies that address this issue. Moreover, there are no
universally accepted standard criteria, objective or subjective, that define a
halitosis patient.5 A large
study performed in Japan involving 2,672 individuals indicated that 6-23% of the
subjects had oral malodour as measured by volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs)
higher than 75 parts per billion (ppb) in expired air at some period during the
day. If these Japanese data reflect the prevalence of oral malodour in
other populations, then oral malodour would represent a major oral health
concern of the public.6 Another
study in the United States involving individuals older than 60 years found 24%
to have been told that they had oral malodour.7
Another source of indirect information is related to the American Dental
Association's 1995 annual session where 92% of the dentists surveyed reported
they had patients with chronic bad breath based on the patient's self
report. Almost half reported seeing six or more patients weekly with
unpleasant breath.4 On the
other hand, bad breath merits concern as virtually all individuals may
occasionally experience episodes of malodour. Furthermore, some authors
estimate that approximately 50% of middle-aged and older individuals emit
socially unacceptable breath, attributed to physiological causes, upon arising
in the morning.8
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| Citation Number: Vol. 2, No. 4, Page 004 |
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