Knowledge and perception attributes about halitosis and its treatment modalities among undergraduate students of dentistry and medicine

Abstract

Background: A worldwide halitosis frequency of 10% - 30% is a common oral health complaint. Bad breath is described as a persistent condition in which a person's oral emissions are unpleasant or disagreeable. It not only hinders the person's ability to go about their routine activities, but also causes them shame and lowers their self-esteem, which in turn lowers their overall quality of life. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate how students majoring in dentistry and medicine see their own halitosis. Methodology: The students inducted in Bachelors in Medicine & Bachelors in Surgery (MBBS), and Bachelors in Dental Surgery (BDS) programs at various Teaching Institutes in Rawalpindi participated in this descriptive cross-sectional analytical epidemiological study. Around 500 undergraduates were given a self-administered questionnaire. Results: In our study, 96 (22.54%) were male students and 330 (77.46%) were female students respectively. 62 (64.6%) male and 255 (77.3%) female students from a variety of disciplines were familiar with the term ‘Halitosis’. 29 students (6.8%) said that halitosis had a mild impact, 189 students (44.36%) said that it had a moderate effect whereas 206 students (48.35%) rendered it as a major severe significant factor affecting their social life deleteriously.