Rosenberg M, Kozlovsky A, Gelernter I, Cherniak O, Gabbay J, Baht R, Eli I
Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel.
J Dent Res. 1995 Sep;74(9):1577-82. doi: 10.1177/00220345950740091201.
Bad breath (halitosis, oral malodor) is a common condition, usually the result of microbial putrefaction within the oral cavity. Often, people suffering from bad breath remain unaware of it, whereas others remain convinced that they suffer from foul oral malodor, although there is no evidence for such. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether objective self-measurement of oral malodors is possible. Each of 52 volunteers was asked to sample the odor from his/her mouth, tongue, and saliva. Results were compared with (i) self-assessments prior to (preconception) and following (post-measurement) self-measurements; (ii) odor judge scores; (iii) dental-measurements (plaque index, gingival index, and probing depth); (iv) volatile sulphide levels; (v) salivary cadaverine levels; and (vi) intra-oral trypsin-like activity. Among the self-measurements, only saliva self-scores yielded significant correlations with objective parameters. Despite the partial objectivity of saliva self-estimates, subsequent post-measurement self-assessments failed to correlate with objective parameters. The results suggest that (i) preconceived notions confound the ability to score one's own oral malodors in an objective fashion; and (ii) partial objectivity can be obtained in the case of saliva self-measurement, presumably because the stimulus is removed from the body proper.
口臭是一种常见病症，通常是口腔内微生物腐败所致。通常，有口臭的人自己并未察觉，而另一些人尽管并无证据表明自己有口臭，却坚信自己有严重的口腔异味。本研究的目的是确定是否可以进行口腔异味的客观自我测量。52名志愿者每人都被要求采集自己口腔、舌头和唾液的气味样本。将结果与以下各项进行比较：（i）自我测量之前（ preconception）和之后（测量后）的自我评估；（ii）气味评判分数；（iii）牙齿测量（菌斑指数、牙龈指数和探诊深度）；（iv）挥发性硫化物水平；（v）唾液尸胺水平；以及（vi）口腔内类胰蛋白酶活性。在自我测量中，只有唾液自我评分与客观参数有显著相关性。尽管唾液自我评估具有部分客观性，但测量后的自我评估与客观参数并无相关性。结果表明：（i）先入之见会干扰以客观方式对自己口腔异味进行评分的能力；（ii）在唾液自我测量中可以获得部分客观性，大概是因为刺激源与身体本身分离了。
