A new halitosis screening tool: halitosis finding score derivation and validation.

OBJECTIVE

The lack of a valid and appropriate halitosis screening survey prompted us to develop and validate a simple, 15-item questionnaire to be used as a screening tool to score halitosis for the daily practise.

METHODS

After calculating the sample size, 200 participants were included in the study. All participants filled a 15-item questionnaire with the subsequent measurements of halitosis through the organoleptic scoring system and a halimeter. The application of questionnaire and the halitosis measurements were repeated 15 days after the first control.

RESULTS

Mann-Whitney's U test was statistically significant between the halimeter measurements and Halfins scores (p=.000, p<.05). ROC curve is drawn due to halitometer analyses. The cut-off point was determined such as Halfins scores greater than 14 indicated halitosis (65.75 sensitivity, 66.04 specificity). The content validation and concurrent validity were proven successful.

CONCLUSIONS

A new halitosis-specific screening tool called Halfins was proven as a valid diagnostic tool for measuring halitosis in the present study. Nevertheless, we believe this questionnaire could be used as complementary tool for the diagnosis of halitosis, seeing as its use alone is not able to firmly conclude the presence of halitosis in all cases, an organoleptic test or VSC assessment would still be necessary.