A study on characteristics to territorial among awareness of halitosis

영역별 특성에 따른 구취 자각정도와 인지에 관한 조사 연구

The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of people in general about halitosis. The subjects in this study were 184 people who visited the clinical practice lab at J health college to get their teeth scaled. After a survey was conducted from May 1 to June 3, 2008, the analyzable answer sheets from 178 respondents were analyzed after four different areas were selected, which included smoking/nonsmoking, scaling experience, toothbrushing frequency and the use of oral hygiene supplies. SPSSWIN 12.0 program was utilized to make a frequency analysis and crosstabs analysis. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Concerning subjective feelings of halitosis, 55.3 percent(99 people) of the respondents found themselves to have a moderate level of bad breath. 28.5 percent(51) deemed themselves to have a little foul breath, and 14 percent(25) didn't feel they had any bad breath. 2. As to the subjective level of halitosis, 89.8 percent(168) thought that their bad breath was a little perceived only by themselves, regardless of smoking, scaling experience, toothbrushing frequency and the use of oral hygiene supplies. 3. In regard to the cause of halitosis, 31 percent(56) cited plaque in the mouth as the cause, and 28.5 percent(51) pointed out the other causes that weren't mentioned in the questionnaire. 18.4 percent(33) cited decayed tooth, and 11.2 percent(20) pointed out gastroenteric disorder. 10.6 percent(19) viewed diabetes as the cause. 4. As to the time when they had the subjective symptom of halitosis, 114 respondents(63.7%) felt their own bad breath the most immediately after they got up 21.8 percent(39 respondents) did it when they were hungry 5.5 percent(9) did that before breakfast, and 4.5 percent(8) did that after having breakfast. 5. Regarding view of how to prevent halitosis, 52.5 percent(94) brushed their teeth frequently 21.2 percent(38) got their teeth scaled on a regular basis at a dentist's office, and 17.9 percent(32) drank water often. The above-mentioned finding seemed to suggest that the respondents weren't well aware of the fact halitosis was a sort of oral and systemic disease. Therefore the development of halitosis prevention and care programs geared toward practice lab visions were required.