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Breath freshening products are the fastest growing sector in the oral care marketplace. There is a clear need for robust testing protocols to evaluate the relative effectiveness of these products. The objective of this study was to design and set-up an organoleptically-assessed human breath freshening panel to allow reliable and robust comparative assessment of a range of oral care products. Initially, 10 prospective breath-odour judges were assessed in a Quest standard test for skills in recognition, differentiation, ranking and descriptive assessment of chemical odorants. The four highest scoring judges were further trained in assessment of chemical malodours relevant to breath freshening, using odorants including methyl mercaptan, indole, skatole, cadaverine, putrescine, butyric and isovaleric acids. An extensive programme of sniffing the breath odour of volunteers was undertaken, scoring breath using both the‘Rosenberg’ (0–5) intensity scale, as well as a residual flavour (hedonic/pleasantness) scale. Comparative scores were analysed to ensure reasonably low inter-judge variability. A panel of members of the public were recruited as the Quest Breath Freshness panel. Panellists were assessed by a qualified dentist, and those with severe tooth decay, extensive dentures or severe periodontal disease were excluded, as were diabetics, pregnant women or those with any pre-disposition to respiratory illness. The panel has been used to conduct breath assessments prior to product use, and at a range of set time-points thereafter, up to 4 h. Results are routinely analysed by ANOVA. Trials were further optimized to use a 4- or 5-week, crossover, double-blind experimental design. Data from the panel has been used to support product claims, and to assess the efficacy of combinations of flavours, antimicrobial agents and oral product formats in delivering breath freshening benefits. The panel now runs routinely, and is used for research and commercial assessment of product benefits. The Quest breath freshness panel provides robust experimental data on the effectiveness of oral care products for breath freshening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Oral care products deliver breath freshening primarily via mechano-chemical cleaning or by antimicrobial active systems. Dental flavours provide taste benefits, and freshen breath mainly by sensorial masking. We aimed to determine whether flavours could deliver breath freshening in products by inhibiting bacterial volatile sulphide compound (VSC) production., Subjects and Methods: Flavour materials were screened for inhibition of hydrogen sulphide formation by Klebsiella pneumoniae in vitro, grouped by efficacy, and data provided to flavourists. Flavours were formulated to maximize the content of VSC-effective ingredients and re-screened to confirm performance. Extensive, iterative testing of flavours identified reliable creative rules to deliver efficient inhibition of H2S generation. Breath-freshening flavours in whole products were then tested in-house in a 'breath freshness panel'., Main Outcome Measures: Malodour of panellists (not preselected for malodour score) was scored before and after product use, on the 'Rosenberg' 0-5 scale, together with residual flavour score, by extensively trained judges. Products were tested in double-blind, crossover studies, and results analysed using ANOVA., Results and Conclusions: Products flavoured using these rules delivered significantly greater breath freshening at 2 h than control products, and equivalent benefits to products containing 0.1% (w/w) triclosan or 0.2% (w/w) zinc sulphate.