Influence of oral health and lifestyle on oral malodour.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the influence of oral health and lifestyle on the prevalence of oral malodour among university students.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Self-administered questionnaires. Chi-square test was used to detect any significant association between malodour and various variables.

RESULTS

9% of males and 6% of females complained of malodour, while 36% of males and 31% of females did not complain of malodour. Nevertheless, 12% of the males and 6% of females were unable to decide. The highest percentage of respondents not complaining of malodour were non-smokers (55%). A significant number of respondents were free from caries (48%), gingival disease (55%) and also were not complaining of malodour. Statistically, a significant association was found between malodour and gingival disease (p < 0.05) and between malodour and the use of a toothbrush on a daily basis (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results highlight the influence of oral self-care and lifestyle on malodour. Public awareness, diagnosis and treatment of malodour are primarily the responsibility of dentists. Malodour can have a distressing effect and the affected person may avoid socialising.