Prevalence and Psychosocial Impact of Halitosis: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: This study's objective was to assess whether halitosis had a psychosocial impact among a sample of the Saudi population. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey of 320 randomly selected residents’ adults in Qassim province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was conducted using a distributed questionnaire in dense population facilities. Results: Half (50.0%) of the participants in this study expressed concern about halitosis. The participants that expressed concern about halitosis were mostly in the 25- to 27-year-old age group. Halitosis seems to be threatening to friendships, relationships, and marriages. Discussion: Prevalence of oral halitosis was reported by 17% of the male and 16% of the female in this study, which lower than the prevalence of halitosis in other studies. This study reported some obstacle that halitosis patient has: the shyness of speech and inability to meet other people because of this disease. A survey of other studies reported that 34% of halitosis participants had made them hesitant to speak to others, and 12.6% completely avoids others. Conclusion: Halitosis could have a socially crippling effect that could affect people's life. Participants who were affected by the conditions and aware of it most likely will seek treatment.