Sania Riaz, Nadya Sultan, Ziaur Rahman Khan, Mehvish Ghazal, Waqas Ahmed Farooqui.
Halitosis: can we treat what we do not understand?.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;36(3):433-6.

Halitosis is a malodor emerging from the oral cavity which leads to anxiety and psychosocial embarrassment. With proper diagnosis, identification of etiology and management, patients seeking assistance can be successfully treated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the current knowledge of halitosis amongst registered dentists, house officers and dental hygienists working in Dow University of Health Sciences. In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, 200 filled questionnaires were collected from registered dentists, house officers and dental hygienists and were evaluated. The questionnaire consisted of 17 questions. There were 8 questions for evaluating knowledge about etiology of halitosis, 3 questions for treatment, 2 questions on practices and 4 questions on attitude of dentists regarding halitosis. A criterion for assessing knowledge was set in which the individual who gave 5 or greater than 5 correct answers out of 8 were labeled as having awareness about halitosis. Descriptive analysis and Chi square was used for statistical analysis. Only 49.2% of the dentists were aware of the subject of halitosis. There were no significant differences in the knowledge levels of the three categories, except for in two questions showing that the dentists had no advanced knowledge regarding halitosis when compared to the house officers and dental hygienists. However, all participants were eager to learn about this subject and to treat halitosis patients in the future.

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