Test Your Knowledge About Bad Breath and Halitosis with this Quiz

Understanding Breath Odor: Causes, Types, and Prevalence

• Breath odor can be pleasant, unpleasant, or disturbing and is a common complaint in the general population.
• Halitosis, bad breath, or fetor ex ore are terms used to describe unpleasant breath malodor.
• One in four persons has bad breath at a given time in his/her life, leading to personal discomfort and social embarrassment.
• The three main categories of halitosis are genuine halitosis, pseudo-halitosis, and halitophobia.
• Physiologic halitosis caused by food intake, smoking, or medications is common and does not reveal a health problem.
• Pathologic halitosis reflects some pathology and is caused by oral malodor or extraoral factors such as systemic diseases.
• Tongue coating is the predominant cause of oral malodor, followed by periodontal diseases.
• A large-scale study showed that 90% of patients with objectively detected bad breath had the cause in the oral cavity, with tongue coating accounting for 51% of cases.
• Poor oral hygiene, gingivitis, and periodontitis are also causative factors for oral malodor.
• The degradation of organic substrates by anaerobic bacteria in the mouth leads to the production of sulfur-containing gases such as hydrogen sulfide and methylmercaptan.
• The dorsal tongue mucosa presents an ideal niche for bacterial adhesion and growth, leading to tongue coating and bad breath.
• A fissured tongue and a hairy tongue have an even rougher surface, making them more prone to bacterial growth and bad breath.