Oral Malodour

Oral Malodour

Write short note on diagnosis of oral malodor.
Answer. It is diagnosed under the following:

• By reviewing of medical, dental and personal history.
• Clinical examination
  • Intraoral examination
    • Coating of tongue
    • Presence of mouth-breathing
    • Xerostomia
    • Other oral cause
  • Complete periodontal examination
    • Personal care and oral hygiene
    • Evidence of neglect and past status of dental hygiene.

• Measuring oral malodor: Before measuring, patient should be instructed not to rinse, eat, chew or smoke for two hours before measurement. Patients on antibiotic therapy should be seen two weeks after the discontinuation of medicine. Following are the tests used for measurement of oral malodor:
  • Subjective organoleptic method: It is a benchmark for measurement of oral malodor.
  • Halimeter: Measure the sulphide gas found in person’s breadth. It is very sensitive to alcohol, so one should avoid drinking alcohol before 12 hours of test.
  • Gas chromatography: It is a monitor which digitally measure molecular level of three major volatile sulphur compounds in sample of mouth.
  • Chemiluminescence: It involves mixing of sample containing sulphur compound with mercury which leads to florescence.