Volatile composition of the morning breath

Abstract

We have measured the composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the morning breath of 30 healthy individuals before and after tooth brushing. The concentrations of VOCs in the breath samples were measured with proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) and further identification was performed with a combination of solid phase microextraction and offline gas chromatography–MS. We hypothesize that compounds, whose concentrations significantly decreased in the breath after tooth brushing are largely of microbial origin. In this study, we found 35 such VOCs. Out of these, 33 have been previously connected to different oral niches, such as salivary and subgingival bacteria. We also compared the concentrations of the 35 VOCs found in increased amounts in the morning breath to their respective odor thresholds to evaluate their ability to cause odor. Compounds that could contribute to the breath odor include many volatile sulfur compounds, such as methanethiol, hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, and 2-methyl-1-propanethiol, but also other VOCs, such as acetic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, acetaldehyde, octanal, phenol, indole, ammonia, isoprene, and methyl methacrylate.