Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Halitosis

구취 환자의 임상적 특징

Objective : Halitosis, or bad breath, is a common concern for many people. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical characteristics of halitosis patients and correlation with their various associated elements. Methods: We surveyed 169 halitosis patients by reviewing questionnaires from the Halitosis Clinic in the Hospital of Oriental Medicine, Kyunghee University from January 2004 to March 2006. The questionnaires contained various items including sex, age, history of smoking and alcohol intake, duration of symptoms in a week, time and condition of severe halitosis, suggestive origin of halitosis, taste abnormality, oral hygiene, self-assessed halitosis severity, dry mouth, postnasal drip, tonsillolith, globus pharyngeus, reflux sensation, too much gas and Winkel tongue coating index. Volatile sulfur compounds were measured with a $Halimeter^{\circledR}$. Results : The halitosis patients actively carried out management methods such as non-smoking, moderation in drink, teeth brushing and tongue scraping in order to decrease their oral malodor. Tongue coating significantly affected the $Halimeter^{\circledR}$ reading score, and tongue coating and dry mouth significantly affected self-assessed halitosis severity. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tongue coating and dry mouth should be treated to improve satisfaction in halitosis patients.