Knowledge, Attitude and Practices regarding Self-perceived Halitosis among Undergraduate Dental Students - A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Unpleasant odor emitted from the oral cavity of a person is called halitosis. The other common terminologies that are used to refer to halitosis are fetor oris, oral malodor, or bad breath. Materials and Method: An online survey was conducted, with a set of 15 questions among dental undergraduate students of Saveetha Dental College to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding self-perceived halitosis. Google forms were used to conduct the survey. The results of the survey were collected and tabulated. SPSS by IBM was used to analyze the data, the frequency and percentage of each question was extracted. The statistical test used was Chi Square test. Results: 84.5% of the study participants did not have any feeling of bad breath. 82% of them were aware that systemic diseases and conditions could cause oral malodor. 78.7% of them knew it may be attributed to gum disease. 60.5% of them brushed only once a day, 70.7% of them used mouthwash regularly, 83.9% of them used tongue cleaner and 52.3% of them flossed regularly. 60.3% of them did not go for a professional cleaning or check up. Conclusion: From the study we conclude that there is a fair amount of knowledge about halitosis and ways to prevent and measures to avoid halitosis. People were also aware of the behavior with people affected from halitosis, there is a need to create awareness on halitosis and ways to avoid halitosis and preventive measures to be taken for halitosis, professional cleaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]