[Effect of chewing gum on halitosis].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE This study aims to estimate the prevalence of oral halitosis in a young population and show the effect of chewing gum on their breath. PATIENTS AND METHOD Prospective, descriptive correlational cross section study. We selected a convenience sample of 121 young individuals and 98 completed the study. It was carried out at the University Dental Hospital-University of Barcelona. The protocol consisted of: questionnaire, oral clinical evaluation, organoleptic tests (OT) and measurement of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) with sulphide monitoring before and after chewing gum during 15 min, with 2 calibrated investigators. RESULTS A percentage of 87.8 had adequate oral hygiene, 17.3% reported bad breath and 29.6% had xerostomia. Forty-four subjects had a OT grade ≥2; the agreement of examiners was 75%. The VSC in 53 individuals were ≤100 parts per billion (ppb) and in 45 subjects, it was>100 ppb. A post-reduction of VSC of 17.34% was obtained with a mean decrease of 1.8-9.0 ppb (P=.003). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of halitosis was 36.7%. The use of chewing gum as an adjunct in cases of halitosis decreases the VSC, improving the perception of others and the patient.