This study was performed to investigate the factors affecting feeling of oral malodor(bad breath). For the study 52 dental patients complaining oral malodor was classified as the patients group, and 51 dental outpatients or dental students without complaining oral malodor were selected randomly and was classified as the control group, respectively.
Habit related to tooth brushing and tongue scraping, range and color of tongue coating, dietary habit, items related to feeling of oral malodor, gingival index, and intraoral concentration of volatile sulfur compound(VSD) were investigated, and interview using questionnaires such as Hospital anxiety and depression scale(HAD), Symptom check list-90-revision(SCL-90R), and Stress symptom questionnaire developed by the author were also done. The obtained data were processed and analysed with SPSS window program.
There were no difference in tooth brushing habit between the two groups, but the patients group had more larger tongue coating, and showed tendency for more yellowish coating. There were slight difference in dietary habit, but no difference in items of feeling time and site of oral malodor between the two groups. The site where oral malodor felt mostly was tongue in both groups.
There was no correlation between the degree of feeling of oral malodor on VAS and concentration of volatile sulfur compound, and score of HAD, but significant correlation was found with some items such as Depression, and Paranoid ideation of SCL-90R in the patients group.
As for the stress symptoms, number of total symptoms were not different between the two groups, but tongue-related symptom were significantly higher in the patients group. From regression analysis, the significant factors affecting degree of feeling of oral malodor were the items related to tongue, namely, number of tongue-related stress symptom and range of tongue coating(p<0.001).
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