Association of halitosis with dental caries in pediatric patients in a tertiary level hospital

Nazia Mehanaz,Suvasish Das,Helal Uddin,Abu Nasher Mohammad Badrudduza,Arup Kumar Saha,Shahriar Mohd Shams,Qazi Tanzin Ahmed,Ashis Kumar Biswas

doi:10.3329/bsmmuj.v14i3.56600

Abstract

Halitosis refers to bad breath is induced by volatile molecules due to pathological or non-pathological factors, prevalent in all ages. It can originate from either oral or non-oral sources. However, dental hygiene, periodontal disease, impacted food, tongue coat, and caries are among the oral-related sources, accounting for 90% of cases of halitosis. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the association between halitosis and caries among pediatric patients. This cross-sectional descriptive study documented clinical data from 45 pediatric patients at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). The selected patients were evaluated with the Specific Caries Index (SCI) to detect the caries involvement. A halimeter was used to evaluate halitosis. According to halimeter, the mean value of halitosis in relation to sex was 169.58 ppb, while participants with very strong halitosis were observed in 12.5% of males and 33.3% of females. Patients over the age of 13 manifested extreme halitosis than other selected age groups. The result demonstrated that halitosis increased significantly with a higher score of the caries index. Hence, this study indicated an association between halitosis and the caries index in pediatric patients, highlighting the need for more research to assess its applicability in broader and diverse groups BSMMU J 2021; 14(3): 62-66

Highlights

Halitosis refers to bad breath is induced by volatile molecules due to pathological or non-pathological factors, prevalent in all ages
Periodontal diseases, tongue coating, peri-implant diseases, deep carious lesions, exposed necrotic tooth pulp, pericoronitis, mucosal ulcerations, impacted food, unclean dentures, and factors causing decreased salivary flow rate are among the causes that contribute to oral halitosis.[3,7]
According to the previous study, poor dental hygiene was found to be the source of bad breath in over 85 percent of halitosis cases, 43 percent on tongue coating, 11 percent from gingivitis and/or periodontitis, and 18 percent from a combination of the two

Summary

Introduction

Halitosis refers to bad breath is induced by volatile molecules due to pathological or non-pathological factors, prevalent in all ages. Patients with periodontitis are prone to have halitosis than healthy people.[1,2] After caries and periodontal disease, halitosis is the third most common cause for seeking dental care.[3] According to reports, the prevalence of halitosis in the general population ranges from 22% to 50% around the world.[4] Halitosis is thought to have an adverse impact on social communication among the general population and affects an individual's life having halitosis It may be the source of concern for a potential health problem and frequent psychological changes that lead to social and personal isolation. Breath can eventually smell like rotten eggs or filthy socks due to volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs)

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Conclusion