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. 1999 May;30(5):324-7.

Self-assessment of oral malodor 1 year following initial consultation

M Rosenberg  1 , A Kozlovsky, Y Wind, E Mindel
Affiliations
  • PMID: 10635287

Self-assessment of oral malodor 1 year following initial consultation

M Rosenberg et al. Quintessence Int. 1999 May.

Abstract

Objective: In an initial study, subjects complaining of bad breath were generally unable to score the level of their own oral malodor in an objective fashion. Subjects were taught several techniques for self-measurement of bad breath. One year following the initial consultation, subjects were recalled to determine whether their ability to assess their own oral malodor had improved.

Method and materials: In the study, subjects were blinded to their own scores 1 year earlier, to the odor-judge scores, and to the results of the clinical laboratory tests. Thirty-two of 43 subjects in the original study who presented with a complaint of oral malodor agreed to participate in the follow-up study. Odor-judge scores and self-assessments of oral malodor (whole-mouth odor, tongue odor, and saliva odor) were compared with one another as well as with clinical parameters.

Results: Objective improvements were noted in both oral health parameters and malodor levels of subjects. Despite this, self-assessments generally remained unrelated to objective parameters (odor-judge scores, clinical indices, and laboratory tests). Self-assessments were all significantly correlated with one another, and also were significantly associated with corresponding self-estimates made 1 year earlier.

Conclusion: Subjects with a complaint of oral malodor remain largely unable to score their own bad breath in an objective fashion. In addition, they are not capable of sensing reductions in oral malodor 1 year following the original assessment, even though, from a clinical standpoint, improvements have taken place.

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