1. Characteristics of 2000 patients who visited a halitosis clinic
- Author
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Sandra Van den Velde, Jesica Dadamio, Marc Quirynen, Marie Van Tornout, Christel Dekeyser, Menke Janke De Smit, and Betty Vandekerckhove
- Subjects
Male ,Time Factors ,aetiology ,Gastrointestinal Diseases ,characteristics ,Dentistry ,bad breath ,Gingivitis ,halitosis ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Child ,Medical History Taking ,Nose ,Aged, 80 and over ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Middle Aged ,Smell ,Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Breath Tests ,gas-chromatography ,Child, Preschool ,Periodontics ,Female ,oral malodor ,medicine.symptom ,Adult ,Adolescent ,Referral ,Physical examination ,Halimeter ,Young Adult ,Tongue ,Throat ,medicine ,Humans ,Periodontitis ,breath-odor ,Physical Examination ,Aged ,Patient Care Team ,periodontal-disease ,Sulfur Compounds ,business.industry ,Halitosis ,malodour ,medicine.disease ,Etiology ,business - Abstract
Aims: The aim of this paper was to analyse the aetiology and characteristics of 2000 patients who visited a multidisciplinary bad breath clinic in Leuven, Belgium and to correlate organoleptic ratings with portable device measurements. Materials and Methods: The characteristics and aetiology of breath malodour of two thousand consecutive patients who visited a halitosis consultation were explored by means of a standard questionnaire and a clinical examination, including organoleptic scores provided by a trained and calibrated judge, and a portable bad breath detector (Halimeter®). Results: Most patients came without referral and had complaints for several years (mean: 7 years, SD: 8 years). For 76% of the patients, an oral cause was found [tongue coating (43%), gingivitis/periodontitis (11%) or a combination of the two (18%)]. Pseudo-halitosis/halitophobia was diagnosed in 16% of the cases; and ear, nose and throat/extra-oral causes were found in 4% of the patients. Most patients had an organoleptic score
- Published
- 2009
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