Dr. Isha Jain Dr. Shamsa Fiaz, Dr. Sharad Bhatnagar
Vol. 8, Jul-Dec 2019
Abstract:
Face is the mirror of mind and index of beauty. It houses almost all sense organs which are gateway of interaction of our body with the external world. Oral cavity functions as an essential component and halitosis is a common complaint among general population which definitely affects a person’s beauty as well as personality. Halitosis is an unpleasant odour that originates from the mouth and can be serious enough to cause personal embarrassment and social restraint. Different terms describing halitosis include breath malodour, oral malodour and bad or foul breath. The etiology of halitosis is related to intraoral causes in 90% of cases and extra oral causes are 10%1 . Intraoral halitosis can be caused by poororal hygiene, gingivitis, food impaction, periodontal disease or excessive bacteria (mainly gram –negative) on the coated tongue degrading and converting both sulfur and non sulfur containing amino acids into volatile and bad smelling gases. Extraoral halitosis can be caused by upper respiratory tract infections such as chronic sinusitis, rhinitis, tonsillitis, etc. lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia, pulmonary abscess etc. Systemic factors causing halitosis include rheumatic fever, hiatus hernia, hepatic carcinoma, diabetic ketoacidosis, uraemia, kidney disease and gastrointestinal diseases. Halitosis can also have temporary causes such as morning bad breath, dry mouth, hunger, stress and dietary causes such as eating garlic, onion etc.