THE COMPLAINT OF ORAL MALODOR - POSSIBLE PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Oral malodor (halitosis) is a common concern in Western society. As wi th other human perceptions, emotional as well as cognitive variables p lay a major role in one's sensation and complaint. To study factors po tentially associated with the complaint of oral malodor, periodontal a nd psychological evaluations were carried out on 38 subjects (66% fema le, mean age 43 years) with a complaint of oral malodor. Subjects unde rwent evaluation of their periodontal status, odor evaluation by an od or judge, and psychopathological symptom survey by means of the SCL-90 questionnaire. The patient's self-rating of oral odor was significant ly higher than the evaluation of an objective odor judge and was not a ssociated with their periodontal status. The SCL-90 profile of subject s was relatively higher than that of an age- and gender-matched refere nce group of dental patients. The results suggest that the complaint o f oral malodor may be related to psychopathological symptoms as record ed by the SCL-90 questionnaire.