PREVALENCE OF HALITOSIS AND EVALUATION OF ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS IN A TURKISH SUBPOPULATION

Aim: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of halitosis in an adult Turkish subpopulation and to assess the relationship between halitosis and sociodemographics, self reported halitosis, etiological factors,  by employing standardized procedures for measurement of halitosis. Methods: The study included 459 subjects who referred to oral diagnosis clinic of Gazi University Faculty Of  Dentistry. The questionnaire including the questions of sociodemographic data, halitosis complaints, oral hygiene practices, extrinsic causes and extra-oral causes. In the clinical examination, dentition and soft tissues were evaluated. Tongue coating status, periodontal index, gingival index and plaque index were recorded. Values for halitosis were assessed by measurement of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) using portable sulphide monitor. Results: The questionnaire revealed that 46.6% of the subjects suffered from halitosis and females  sufferred from halitosis more frequently than males. The prevalence of halitosis was 50.7% . A significant correlation was found between halitosis and tongue coating, periodontitis, gingivitis though PI  did not affect halitosis. There were not significant correlations between halitosis and oral hygiene practices, extrinsic causes and extra-oral causes. Conclusion: This study showed that there was a high prevalence of halitosis in the Turkish population and the most important factors that influence halitosis were intra-oral causes. Keywords: Epidemiology, halitosis, VSCs OZ Amac: Bu calismanin amaci eriskin bir grup Turk populasyonunda halitozisin gorulme sikligini, sosyo-kulturel faktorleri, halitozis sikayeti ve etiyolojik faktorlerin arastirilmasidir. Gerec ve yontem: Calismaya, Gazi universitesi Oral Diagnoz Klinigine basvuran 18 yasindan buyuk 459 eriskin hasta dahil edildi. Hastalarin sosyo-kulturel durumlari, halitozis sikayeti, oral hijyen aliskanliklari, ekstrensek faktorleri ve agiz disi nedenleri sorgulayan anemnez formlari dolduruldu. Klinik muayenede dentisyon ve yumusak dokular degerlendirildi ve dil yuzeyindeki birikintiler, periodontal durum indeksi, gingival indeks ve plak indeksleri kaydedildi. Halitozis portatif sulfur monitoru kullanilarak volatil sulfur bilesikleri (VSB)  seviyesi olculerek degerlendirildi.  Bulgular: Ankete gore, hastalarin %46.6’ si halitozisden sikayetcidir.  Hastalarin % 50.7’sinde halitozis vardir. Halitozis ile periodontal durum, dil yuzeyi birikinti miktari, gingival durum arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir iliski bulunmustur. Plak indeks degerleri, oral hijyen aliskanliklari, ekstrensek faktorler ve agiz disi nedenler ile halitozis arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir iliski bulunmamistir. Sonuc: Calismamizin sonuclarina gore halitozis Turk populasyonunda yaygindir ve halitozisi etkileyen  en onemli nedenler agiz-ici faktorlerdir. Anahtar kelimeler: Epidemiyoloji, halitozis, VSB