Sadia Rana, Asma Shakoor, Ayesha Fahim.
Awareness of Halitosis and Oral Hygiene among Undergraduate Dental Students.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;26(4):141-5.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Halitosis or oral malodor is characterized by unpleasant odor arising from the oral cavity. The prevalence of halitosis however is not studied extensively. METHODOLOGY: A structured questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was administered to 220 undergraduate students of Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore. RESULTS: Out of them 212(96.36%) students participated in the study. Among them 90(42.45%) were males and 122(57.55%) were females. Mean age of the students was 20.48 +- 1.63 years. Average age of male was 21.41 +- 1.66 years and of female was19.79 +- 1.22 years. 89(42.0%) reported halitosis (95% C.I 35.3% to 48.9%), 90(42.5%) have no halitosis and 33(15.6%) did not know about It. Halitosis was reported among 30(33.3%) male and 59(48.4%) female. Present study showed that females have more awareness of malodor than the male students. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate higher prevalence and awareness of halitosis among this population consisting of dental students. The awareness of halitosis as an individual entity should be promoted to the general population and the therapeutic measures should be made available to all. KEY WORDS: Dental students, halitosis, oral hygiene, oral malodor.

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