Dental prosthesis and halitosis: Evaluation of oral malodor in patients with and without a dental prosthesis

Abstract

Aim The aim of the present study was to evaluate in an adult population the correlation between different methods for the evaluation of halitosis and investigate the influence of prosthetic rehabilitation on halitosis level. Materials and methods A sample of 50 adult patients was selected at the Dentistry Unit of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy, who were divided in Group 1 (absence of prosthesis), Group 2 (fixed prosthesis), and Group 3 (removable prosthesis). The assessment of oral malodor was carried out by organoleptic evaluation, measuring the concentration of H2S, CH3SH, and (CH3)2S with Oral ChromaTM and quantification of salivary β-galactosidases (Sβ-g) activity through the spectrophotometric method. Statistics: Anova, Postdoc LSD test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient (P) and Spearman’s correlation coefficient (Rho) were used; p values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results A positive and significant correlation between  organoleptic evaluation, Sβ-g, levels of volatile sulfur compounds Oral ChromaTM measurements was found (p<0.05). By stratifying patients with and without a dental prosthesis, it was possible to show a significant increase of organoleptic scores (p<0.05), β-galactosidase (p<0.05), food stagnation  (p<0.01) and a higher scores of H2S (p<0.05) and CH3SH (p<0.05) in patients wearing a prosthesis. Stratifying results between Groups 1-2-3, it was possible to see that some parameters were higher in Group 3, followed by Group 2. Conclusion The presence of prosthetic rehabilitation negatively affected halitosis in the patients according to both clinical and self-reported evaluations.