prevalence of self-perceived oral malodor in a group of thai dental patients

objective: to determine the prevalence and correlated factors of self-reported oral malodor in thai dental patients from chulalongkorn dental hospital. materials and methods: a self-administered questionnaire was developed to assess the self-reported perception of oral malodor in 839 patients. significant associations between self-perceived oral malodor and sociodemographics, oral problems and oral hygiene practice variables were determined by chi-square test. results: the prevalence of currently self-perceived oral malodor was 61.1%. a higher prevalence of self-perceived oral malodor was significantly correlated with a number of factors including being 30 years of age or older, having a high school or lower educational level, tongue coating, xerostomia, bleeding when brushing teeth, never receiving professional tooth cleaning and a lower toothbrushing frequency. however, multivariable analysis showed that tongue coating was the factor most strongly associated with self-perceived oral malodor (or=3.53; ci=2.05-6.08), followed by bleeding when brushing teeth (or= 2.96) and being 30 years of age or older (or=2.46). subjects with oral malodor perceived by themselves and others had a higher level of self-perceived oral malodor, a higher prevalence of bad odor when talking, in the morning and throughout the whole day, and a higher prevalence of consulting with other people in comparison with those with perception by themselves alone. conclusion: tongue coating, bleeding when brushing teeth and being 30 years of age or older were significantly associated with self-perceived oral malodor. the level of selfperceived oral malodor and consulting with other people was more prevalent in subjects with oral malodor perceived by themselves and others.