The complaint of oral malodour: psychopathological and personality profiles

The Halitosis Consequences Inventory: psychometric properties and relationship with social anxiety disorder

Objectives

Individuals who complain of halitosis experience psychological consequences that can lead to social, professional, and affective limitations. Research has identified social anxiety disorder (SAD) as the most common psychopathology associated to halitosis complaints. Combining these two lines of research, we sought to determine the validity of the Halitosis Consequences Inventory (ICH), a scale designed to assess the psychological consequences of halitosis complaints. We also investigated the relationship between these consequences and SAD.

Materials and methods

Participants were 436 individuals, including those with and without halitosis complaints (n=411 and n=25, respectively). Measures administered were the ICH, Social Phobia Inventory and its shortened version, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, and Fear of Negative Evaluation scale.

Results

The ICH had adequate internal consistency (α=0.93) and could accurately discriminate between participants with and without halitosis complaints. Furthermore, individuals with high scores on the ICH were more likely to have SAD.

Conclusions

The ICH is an important tool for determining the aversive halitosis consequences, allowing to identify, with some degree of accuracy, individuals who might require screening for SAD. Besides, there´s a linear relationship between the presence of halitosis consequences and SAD.

Diet and halitosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The present article reviews the current knowledge of halitosis with particular emphasis upon the interplay of diet and disease of the gastrointestinal tract upon oral malodour.

RECENT FINDINGS

Transient-altered breath smell usually reflects the effects of foodstuffs, whereas longstanding halitosis is almost always because of oral disease such as gingivitis or periodontitis. There is, however, increasing evidence that upper gastrointestinal tract disease may give rise to halitosis and that extracts of foodstuffs may be future therapeutic agents for the treatment of halitosis derived from the mouth or upper gastrointestinal tract.

SUMMARY

There is some interplay between the halitosis and the gastrointestinal tract, and it is possible that the therapy of halitosis may be aided by investigations of the effects of foodstuffs upon bacteria that give rise to volatile sulphur compounds.