Factors associated with clinical and perceived oral malodor among dental students

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with clinical and perceived oral malodor among dental students. Clinical oral malodor was measured in 163 Malaysian dental students using organoleptic method and Oral ChromaTM and they were asked about their perception of self-oral malodor. Oral examination was performed to assess oral health status. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 19.0. There were 52.7% students who had clinical oral malodor, while 19.0% students perceived they had oral malodor. The sensitivity (0.244) of self-perceived oral malodor was lower than its specificity (0.870). Tongue coating was closely associated with clinical oral malodor whereas high plaque index was closely associated with perceived oral malodor. These results showed that clinical oral malodor was prevalent among dental students, but students' perception of oral malodor did not always reflect actual clinical oral malodor. Furthermore, associating factors of clinical oral malodor differ from perceived oral malodor. The importance of controlling clinical oral malodor with proper tongue cleaning should be emphasized and dental students should be taught on the differences between clinical and perceived oral malodor in order to manage this problem.