Abstract
Background and objectiveThis study aims to estimate the prevalence of oral halitosis in a young population and show the effect of chewing gum on their breath. Patients and methodProspective, descriptive correlational cross section study. We selected a convenience sample of 121 young individuals and 98 completed the study. It was carried out at the University Dental Hospital-University of Barcelona. The protocol consisted of: questionnaire, oral clinical evaluation, organoleptic tests (OT) and measurement of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) with sulphide monitoring before and after chewing gum during 15min, with 2 calibrated investigators. ResultsA percentage of 87.8 had adequate oral hygiene, 17.3% reported bad breath and 29.6% had xerostomia. Forty-four subjects had a OT grade≥2; the agreement of examiners was 75%. The VSC in 53 individuals were≤100 parts per billion (ppb) and in 45 subjects, it was>100ppb. A post-reduction of VSC of 17.34% was obtained with a mean decrease of 1.8-9.0ppb (P=.003). ConclusionsThe prevalence of halitosis was 36.7%. The use of chewing gum as an adjunct in cases of halitosis decreases the VSC, improving the perception of others and the patient.
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